Deception
by fleeting fancy
Summary: AU version. Sandy didn't go in when he dropped Ryan off in the pilot. Ryan has been trying to make it on his own but reaches out to Sandy for help, only for Kirsten to throw up roadblocks. Kirsten's a cold one in this one. That may or may not change;
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Uh, Mr. Cohen? It's Ryan. Atwood?", Ryan's voice came through the answering machine filled with uncertainty. "I tried your work but they said you took the day off..." his voice drifted off. "I, uh...look, Mr. Cohen? Can...could you call me when you get this? The number's...". He rattled off the number. There was a sigh followed by a momentary silence. "It doesn't matter what time, ok?" Another sigh before he said, "My, uh, my mom, she...she's gone and I...I'm sorry to bother you but I...need help...ok then. Bye." and the sound of a dial tone ended the call.

Kirsten stood staring at the machine a moment then reached down and deleted the message. She knew Sandy would want to help him and she didn't want that boy in her house again. Not after getting Seth drunk and dragging him into a fight. He stole a car for christ's sake. He was a bad influence. She still couldn't believe Sandy brought him into their home in the first place.

It had been a couple of months since Sandy had taken Ryan back home and Seth was still giving her the cold shoulder but she could tell he was getting over it. Ryan had promised to call him and he had but Kirsten intercepted those, too. Answering one call herself and telling him she'd be sure to give Seth the message and deleting others from the answering machine. Seth's anger at her was waning as a result, and shifting to Ryan for not following through and staying in touch like he'd promised. He'd begun talking to her again without so much venom in his voice, and she didn't want to set them back by having this boy worm his way back into things, reminding Seth why he was pissed at her to begin with. Let alone allowing Sandy and Seth to find out that she'd been keeping his calls from them. Seth would forget about him soon and move on. Out of sight out of mind. She poured herself another drink.

* * *

After placing the call, Ryan hung up and settled on the dingy motel room bed. He hoped Mr. Cohen would call back soon.

After Sandy had dropped him off at home that weekend, he'd gone in to find the house empty with a note on the counter basically telling him he was on his own now. He'd heard Mr. Cohen drive off and thought about calling him but all he'd written on his business card was his home number, so he'd have to give him time to get home. Then he wondered what good it would do to call him. Mrs. Cohen clearly didn't think much of him and didn't want him in her house. All Mr. Cohen could do was take him to social services. That wasn't an appealing prospect. He'd get stuck in some group home. Besides, he'd pretty much been fending for himself for a while now. It's not like his mom or A.J. lifted a finger for him. He's the one who cleaned up their messes and did the laundry and got himself fed. The only time they paid him any mind was to tell him to get lost because they were having "friends" over or to complain about what a pain in the ass he was. He had figured it wouldn't be that hard to be on his own. At least he wouldn't be walking on eggshells around A.J. or some other asshole every fucking day of his life. He just needed to get another job and save up a little cash to get his own place. He thought that maybe Trey would know of someone he could get in touch with to get a fake ID so he could rent a place of his own and get "legit" work. He decided that he'd just stay in the empty house for a while and give himself some time to get on his feet. No heat, electricity and water wouldn't be anything new. His mom used to spend money on booze and drugs instead of paying the bills and things were always getting shut off. He could grab showers at the shelter or something. He thought he could do it.

Things were going as planned for a while. He'd found a job working construction again and the foreman agreed to pay him cash off the books. Making sure he knew to get lost when OSHA or any big wigs showed up at the job site.

Unfortunately, his plan hit a snag when he came home from work one day to find the house boarded up with a padlock on the doors. The landlord must have finally come around to collect rent and found that his mom and A.J. had skipped out on him without paying. They had fallen behind before but Ryan was always able to hold the guy off, swearing that he'd get him the rent money as soon as he could and the guy knew that Ryan was the only reason they'd kept relatively up to date so he'd usually let it go for a while, knowing Ryan would get him paid eventually. Ryan knew too much time had gone by but he couldn't risk being found out. He felt bad about the guy getting stiffed it but he needed to look out for himself right now. If things worked out he figured that maybe he could get him his money soon, or at least give him what he could until he was paid up. He hated going back on his word.

Luckily, he still had his back pack with him so he wasn't left completely destitute. He never left that behind in case he had to take off in a hurry. With holing up at the house no longer being an option, he'd stayed at the shelter a couple of nights but then the people running it started asking questions about his age and where his parents were. He stopped going there. He didn't want social services or the cops getting sicked on him from some do gooder wanting to do the right thing. He'd gone to see Trey and told him about Dawn taking off. Trey agreed that Ryan would be better off on his own than in some group home or foster care. They'd both been through that before. So he hooked Ryan up with a guy who could get him a fake ID but it was going to be costly. Which meant that Ryan needed more time to save up the money and couldn't waste it on motel rooms. So he stayed in abandoned buildings or anywhere he could find. He almost had enough together but last night he woke up to some pervert with a knife slobbering all over him. He fought him off, getting a little cut up in the process, and managed to get away. He broke down and got a room so he could patch himself up.

He woke up this morning and decided to rethink things. He still didn't want to go to some group home but after last night, he thought it couldn't be any worse than some freak trying to rape him on a warehouse floor. There would at least be a carpet or a bed at a group or foster home and there most likely wouldn't be a knife involved. He then had a thought that maybe Mr. Cohen could help him get emancipated and maybe he could live on his own where he wouldn't have to worry about anyone trying to fuck him at all but he wasn't so sure Mr. Cohen would be willing to help him anymore. He thought back to their last meeting.

Ryan had showed up for his court date at the end of last month and pretended as if nothing was wrong. Luckily, Ryan remembered that Mr. Cohen had said that he'd get his assistant to call and remind him of the date and he managed to get a call into him first and assure them that he'd be there before they had a chance to find the line disconnected. Mr. Cohen had gotten him probation, just like he said he would. The judge asked where his parents were and he told him that his mother couldn't get off work to be there with him. Apparently no one had checked to see if he was going to school because he was told to take advantage of this chance and to keep up with his school work and show up for his assigned appointments with his PO and he was dismissed. Mr. Cohen had asked how things were going and he told him things were better. Mr. Cohen then mentioned that Seth was pretty disappointed that Ryan hadn't called like he said he would. Ryan tried not to let his puzzlement show. He thought back to the call that Mrs. Cohen had answered and recalled how quickly she had gotten him off the phone. She'd been polite and promised to let Seth know that he'd called but, obviously, she hadn't and Seth hadn't gotten the messages he left for him on the machine. Also thanks to Mrs. Cohen no doubt. He had thought briefly about telling Mr. Cohen. He didn't want Seth to think he had lied to him. He liked Seth but he figured maybe things were better this way. If he'd stayed in touch with Seth then he'd have to lie to him again and again. So he'd simply told Mr. Cohen that he was sorry but that he just didn't feel that a friendship with Seth would work out right now. Mr. Cohen had looked disappointed in him and told him that the least he could have done was told Seth that to his face instead of leaving him hanging like he had. He then wished Ryan luck and told him not to screw up this second chance and left him standing on the courthouse steps.

Ryan winced at the memory and shook his head mentally at how easy it had been to work the system.

His first meeting with his PO was much like the court date. The man seemed to merely be going through the motions, barely looking at Ryan as he went down his list of questions, followed by the obligatory admonitions to stay out of trouble and report to him every month. If his PO was anything like the ones Trey had before then he didn't think he'd have to worry about anyone finding out that he wasn't going to school. Most of them had heavy caseloads and didn't follow through on things like that very often unless something was brought to their attention. Which usually took nothing short of getting arrested, for Trey. Staying under the radar hadn't seemed too hard. Things were going ok until crazy knife man had him second guessing things.

Calling Mr. Cohen's office today had left him with knots in his stomach. He feared that Mr. Cohen might not want to help him after the way he thought he'd treated Seth. He didn't leave a message since they told him he wasn't going to be in that day, so he just tried his home number. He was pretty disappointed when the machine picked up and almost lost his nerve and hung up, but sucked it up and left a message.

He nervously waited as day turned to night. When he had still heard nothing by the following afternoon it was clear that he wasn't going to call at all. If he hadn't been stressing out so much he might have used that brain of his, that Mr. Cohen seemed so impressed with on their first meeting, to put two and two together and realized that Mrs. Cohen may have been responsible for that as well, but all he could think was that his fears were confirmed. That Mr. Cohen had come to the same conclusion about him that Mrs. Cohen had the second she'd laid eyes on him, and Seth was probably pissed off at him, too. So he swallowed down his disappointment and would have to go on as he had been, trying to find someplace safe to sleep. He'd just have to be extra careful to ensure that he wasn't followed. He was truly on his own.

* * *

Kirsten had been relieved as time went by and Sandy hadn't mentioned Ryan again. Ryan's calls had eventually stopped and things were slowly getting back to normal. Until yesterday. Damn that kid. She hoped that when Sandy didn't return his call he'd get the message and leave them be.

Sandy, however, may not have been talking about Ryan, partly out of respect for Seth, but that didn't mean the kid hadn't been on his mind the whole time. He didn't like that Ryan's mother hadn't been at court with him and something seemed off. He seemed thinner and tired. He had claimed everything was all right at home but Sandy had his doubts after his one encounter with Dawn Atwood, along with the bruise on Ryan's face when he'd gotten kicked out and first called him for help. Trying to ease his mind, he tried to call Ryan's home periodically only to find out that the line had been disconnected. It wasn't an unusual thing for a poorer family to let the phone go in favor of other things but he became worried as the days and weeks pressed on and the line remained disconnected. He had taken the day off yesterday to take care of a few personal matters and couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong all day. Kirsten was acting strange when he got home and he couldn't get Ryan off his mind. He tried to call him once more when he returned to work, knowing he'd be met with the same recording. He thought back to the last time he'd seen him, on those steps, after his court date. He thought back to his terse manner when Ryan had told him that he didn't think a friendship with Seth was feasible and recollected how the kid hadn't looked him in the eye when he said that. He hadn't meant to be so abrupt with him but his son was hurting as a result of him not calling. Looking back he was getting the feeling that something more was going on.

He decided to go by Ryan's home after work. As he drove down the street, his heart sped up at the sight of the boarded up windows. He pulled into the drive and saw the padlock on the front door. He got out of the car and went to the next house and knocked on the door. A girl about Ryan's age answered it and looked at him warily. Sandy asked about the Atwoods and after a moment if intense scrutiny she told him that they moved a couple of months ago. She glanced over at his car and said that it was the weekend he'd dropped Ryan off. He asked her if she knew where they'd moved and she said she didn't know. She said that Ryan had hung around for a little while but then he disappeared, too. That caught Sandy's attention. He asked her what she meant and she then informed him that Dawn and A.J. had moved before Ryan had come back that weekend.

As he was driving home, his thoughts swirled with this new information. Ryan's mom had left without him. Ryan hadn't let on that anything was wrong when he showed up at court. Surely, he would have said something to him if she had abandoned him. Maybe she simply had to move suddenly and, with Ryan staying with him, she didn't know how to contact him. Forcing her to leave without him. Maybe Ryan had tracked her down and was now living back with her again and she really was working when he made his court appearance without her. His mind trying to come up with explanations that might settle the growing worry. Nothing rang true, though, so he made a quick trip to see Ryan's PO. The PO didn't seem too concerned that they had moved, insisting that he'd get the information from Ryan when he showed up for his next meeting. Sandy didn't let on that they had moved before he had his last meeting with the guy. He didn't want to mess up Ryan's probation if he could at all help it. He tried to push his concerns aside and drove home. He'd do some more checking the next day.

Dinner that night was a quiet affair, as usual. They exchanged the generic, "how was school?" and "how was work" pleasantries and then the conversation lapsed into silence with each Cohen left to their own thoughts. Seth had reverted back to his solitary nature. It saddened Sandy. He had seen a glimpse of how exuberant and full of life Seth could be in that one full day that Ryan had spent with him. A little flash back to the eager happy child he'd been back in Berkeley. Kirsten sat with wine in hand seemingly oblivious to the walls that surrounded each of them.

Sandy cleared his throat and asked Seth if he'd heard from Ryan. Seth's surprised eyes and Kirsten's narrowed ones whipped to him. He hadn't wanted to twist the knife for Seth but he wanted to know. He still had thoughts of Ryan gnawing at him.

Seth shook his head sadly and said, "No. I guess he didn't really like me. He was just being nice when he said he'd call." He pushed his food around his plate, having suddenly lost his appetite.

Kirsten glared at Sandy and said, "Why would you bring him up, Sandy? Hasn't Seth been hurt enough by all of this? Can't you just let it go?"

Sandy was taken aback. He'd barely mentioned Ryan since taking him home and yet Kirsten was acting like he'd mentioned him constantly over these last couple of months. "I was just wondering. Some things have come to light that have me concerned."

"Well, you shouldn't be. He was a criminal, Sandy. You brought him into our home and he put Seth at risk", she huffed.

"He's not a criminal, Kirsten. He is a kid who made a mistake and he may be in trouble", Sandy stated frustratedly.

"When did he put me at risk?", Seth asked Kirsten with his brow furrowed in confusion before turning to Sandy and asking, "Why are you concerned? What's going on?.

To Sandy, Kirsten first says, "he's probably always in trouble, Sandy. He was here one day and he got into a fight." She turned to Seth and answered, "A fight he dragged you into after getting you drunk. He's a bad influence." She wanted them both to forget about Ryan. She didn't want that bad element back in their lives and she didn't want them know that she'd deleted the messages. Sandy would be upset with her if he knew Ryan had called him for help and she prevented him from doing so.

With raised eyebrows, Seth says, "Is that why you made him leave?! _He _didn't get _me _drunk or drag me into a fight. I got myself drunk and got HIM into a fight."

Kirsten scoffs and pours herself another glass of wine.

Sandy ignored her and asked Seth what he meant.

Seth explained, "A girl I like took one look at him and was hanging all over him. When I saw that I got mad and I took it out on him. I outed him in front of her and everyone. The whole crowd turned on him when they heard he was a car thief from Chino. I left him hanging there and started drinking and the more I drank the angrier I got and then I wandered down to the beach and stupidly mouthed off to the water polo mafia and they were about to pound me into sand. Ryan showed up in the nick of time and totally had my back. He stood up for me, dad. Even after I was such a dick to him. No wonder he didn't call me."

Kirsten winced at how sad Seth sounded and felt a twinge of guilt for letting him believe Ryan had blown him off. She reached for her drink and caught Sandy watching her, like he could see her deception. She smiled nervously and took a drink and tried to school her features as Sandy slowly turned his attention back to Seth.

"How did you get the black eye, then, son?", Sandy asked. Kirsten's behavior niggled at the back of his mind. Her smile was puzzlingly out of place.

"Well, Ryan laid Luke out and then the whole crew pounced on him. He was way outnumbered so I jumped in and took one in the eye", Seth proudly stated. He sighed and then went on sadly, "I said some really shitty things to him, dad, and he still defended me to those goons. No one's done that before. I had to try to help him".

Kirsten sat quietly as Sandy reassured Seth that he understood and wasn't angry at him for fighting. He stated that the drinking, on the other hand, was another issue. She tuned him out as she took another drink of her wine, shame churning in her stomach, completely missing the look Sandy threw her way as she brought the glass to her lips. She'd jumped to the wrong conclusions but there was little she could do about that now. She couldn't tell them about his calls. They'd be furious with her. Besides, that didn't change the fact that Ryan had been arrested. She may have been wrong about the fight but he was still bad news. She was sure of it. Seth had never been in a fight of any kind that she knew of before Ryan came along. She had to distract Sandy and get him to forget about the boy. She wasn't about to let her marriage fall apart because of some kid from Chino. Seth's voice pulled her from her thoughts.

"What's got you so worried, dad?", Seth asked again. "You said everything went ok at his hearing, right?".

Sandy sighed and said, "Yes. Everything went all right but I've been trying to call him and can never get through. Their phone's been disconnected for quite some time. So I went by there today, to talk to him in person..."

"You did what?", Kirsten exclaimed. "You did your job, Sandy.", she stated tersely. "You've done enough." She stood up angrily and cleared her plate and glass from the table. "You don't owe that boy anything", she gritted out as she rinsed her plate in the sink and stalked out of the room.

"When did she become such a bitch?", Seth asked as he stood from the table.

"Seth...", Sandy said with an admonishing tone. Although, his heart wasn't really in it. His own thoughts hadn't been far off.

"What?!", he exclaimed defensively. "It's true. She gets more like grandpa every day", he spat out.

Sandy sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration, not being able to argue. Kirsten had been sounding a lot like Caleb these days. Getting so wrapped up in work and in appearances. She had been behaving less and less like the woman he married every day...and always with a wine glass in her hand it seemed.

Seth's voice brought him from his thoughts. "Dad? What happened with Ryan when you went to see him", he asked, turning attention away from his mom.

Sandy, knowing he should be going and talking to Kirsten instead, told Seth what he found when he went to Ryan's home. Seth instantly became worried.

"So, maybe he didn't call because he had all that other shit going down", his spirits picking up a little at the thought that maybe Ryan hadn't intentionally blown him off. His thoughts turned back to Ryan and he frowned. "Why would she leave without him? Do you think he found her? Do you think he's with his mom?"

Sandy held up a hand, "I don't know, Seth". He shook his head, not knowing if he should hope that Ryan was with his mother or not. "All I know is that she, apparently, was gone when I dropped him off. I should have gone in with him. If for nothing else than to make sure things were calm enough for him to return."

"You said he showed for his meeting with his probation officer?", Seth asked. At Sandy's nod, he went on. "Well, that means he's still around. So that's good, right? I mean, if he skipped out out town then he'd be in trouble with his probation, right? Maybe you could, you know, just happen to be there when he shows up for his next meeting. Then you could find out what's going on. Do you think he'd come clean if he knew that you knew that his mom wasn't there when you dropped him off? Hmm. Maybe you could follow him. I could come with you. We could stealthily trail him to where he's staying. You know, just to see." He finally stopped and took a breath.

Sandy blinked and tried to catch up. "That's a good idea about the PO meeting. I could catch him coming out, or maybe going in if he's early. That would probably be better. That way I could give him a heads up about the PO being aware that he's no longer at the same address. Could be bad if he goes in there and doesn't say anything about it or if the PO tries to trip him up and not letting on that he already knows." Sandy blew out a sigh. "As for whether or not he'll open up to me, I don't know. I was a bit short with him at the court house. He might not feel like he can come to me. Especially knowing how your mother feels about him."

Seth frowned. "What's her deal, anyway? You'd think Ryan robbed a liquor store or something."

"She thinks she's protecting you, Seth. She doesn't know Ryan.", Sandy tried to defend.

"She doesn't want to know Ryan", Seth declared. "Enough about mom. Back to Ryan. When's his next meeting with his probation officer?"

Sandy rubbed a hand down his face. "Not for a couple of weeks. I'll keep checking around until then and see if I can track him down. Maybe check his school. He's supposed to be keeping up with that. I should have asked his PO but if Ryan hasn't been keeping up with his schooling his probation could be revoked. I really don't want to rock the boat for him until I know what's going on."

Seth nodded with a frown. "He wouldn't have not called me if there wasn't a good reason. I know I didn't know him long but now that I'm really thinking about it he wouldn't just blow me off like that, dad. I know he wouldn't. Something has to be wrong. We need to find him".

"We will, Seth", Sandy assured.

"But what about mom?", Seth questioned.

Sandy sighed, "if she doesn't want to know about Ryan, then we won't tell her. It's not like I want to bring him home again. I just want to make sure he's all right". He knew it was a lie. He would bring Ryan home again in a heartbeat if it weren't for Kirsten.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ahh, ain't it funny how stories can take on a life on their own? Take note that I'm fudging on ages somewhat. Marissa is a couple of years older than Seth and Ryan in this fic.**

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Chapter Two

Kirsten slipped out of bed and entered the bathroom. Her head pounding. She rummaged through the cabinet for some aspirin, then filled a glass with water and washed them down. Two arms wrapped around her waist and a soft voice asked, "you ok?".

"Seth will be home from school soon", she said, ingnoring the question. Looking at herself in the mirror, she checked her makeup and ran her fingers through her hair.

He sighed and rested his forehead against her neck. "Kirsten, what is this? What are we doing?"

"We're having sex, Jimmy. The same as it's always been with us", she stated.

He pulled away, studying her in the mirror. "That's not true, Kirsten. You were my first love...I still..."

Her eyes caught his reflecting back at her. "That was a long time ago, Jimmy. A lot of water under the bridge. We're both married. _This_...", she gestures to him, "..will never amount to anything. If you have a problem with that you don't have to come back". With that she pushed past him and retrieved her clothes.

Jimmy stared after her a moment before he followed and silently got dressed, wondering what the hell he was thinking. She was right. He didn't have to come back. He didn't intend to. "You're right, Kirsten. I don't. This was a mistake", he said as he left.

Kirsten didn't believe for one moment that he wouldn't be back. Jimmy was always weak. Just out of high school she'd gotten pregnant and Jimmy immediately gave in to his parents demands to give the baby up for adoption. Kirsten had wanted to keep the baby, despite her own parents' pressure, but Jimmy had caved. Undoubtedly from the not so veiled threats that if they had gone ahead and kept the baby and gotten married they'd be on their own, with no financial support. Kirsten was devastated that Jimmy didn't fight for her and for their child. What hurt more was that he also agreed not to see her anymore. His parents felt that if they'd continued to see one another the town would never forget their indiscretion. So not only had Kirsten lost her child, she'd lost Jimmy as well. The final blow was how easily he'd moved on. Kirsten had been sent away to have the baby and when she'd returned Jimmy was already involved with Julie. Within a few months of dating she, too, had gotten pregnant. Jokes began circulating about Jimmy Cooper never wearing a _jimmy_. His parents were not willing to be humiliated further and this time around had insisted that Jimmy "do the right thing" and marry Julie before the child was born. Once again, Jimmy obeyed and they were wed. Six months later Marissa was born. That had stung. Kirsten smiled to herself. Who was getting the last laugh now? She could destroy his marriage with a snap of her fingers.

Kirsten walked to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and resumed her place at the table. She tried to return her attention to the plans for her latest model home but her thoughts kept drifting to Sandy. He'd been distant these past couple of weeks. Canceling lunch or dinner plans and not coming home until late. Seth had been holed up in his room most nights, leaving the house quiet and still. She sighed and thought back to when she met Sandy. He was nothing like Jimmy. He was principled and stubborn and he fought for her tooth and nail. She'd put him through the paces before going out with him. He had no money but had worked his way through school. He was a fighter. She loved that about him. She wasn't going to settle for another Jimmy Cooper. The bonus had been how much her parents had hated Sandy. Once again trying to exert their control over her by threatening to cut her off if she continued to see him. She defied them gladly. They'd made her give up her child. They'd caused her to lose her first love. No one was going to control her life like that again. She shook off her thoughts and forced herself to focus on her work while she waited for Seth to come home.

Sandy had been throwing himself into his work and when he wasn't working he resorted to driving through the streets of Chino, trying to catch a glimpse of Ryan. He hired a private investigator to see if he could find Dawn but with no luck yet. Things at home hadn't been good. Seth was barely speaking to Kirsten and neither was he if he were to be truthful. He had begun to dread going home so he'd been finding himself driving aimlessly down street after street, using the search for Ryan as an excuse to put off making that drive to Newport. It wasn't that he didn't really want to find Ryan but he hadn't a clue as to what he'd do once he did. He knew the system had failed Ryan before and would most likely fail him again, due to his age. It wasn't easy to find a foster home for a teenage boy. The best he could hope for was a group home that wasn't too crowded. That is, if Ryan wasn't with his mother. If he was, well...then that would be that. He'd do what he could to make sure his probation was intact and would try to keep the kid from falling into the pitfalls that so many of the boys that crossed his path did. It was too late for his brother but not too late for him. If only Kirsten...he shook the thought off. She'd dug her heels in about this kid. He sighed in frustration and decided to throw in the towel early for the day. There were no pressing cases and he hoped to finally catch up to Ryan tomorrow.

Unbeknown to Sandy, Seth had been doing a little sleuthing of his own the past couple of weeks. He had suggested that he and his dad go and look for Ryan but Sandy said no and that he would handle it. So Seth took it upon himself to do a little stealth searching on the down low. He had some fairly mad computer skills and thought he could come up with something. He thought wrong. He couldn't find jack. So he'd skipped a few days of school and hopped a bus to Chino. His mom would murderize him if she'd known he was cruising around Chino on his skateboard. His dad would be none too happy either. On the upside, no chance of getting carjacked. On the downside, not much chance of a fast getaway. He wasn't an idiot, though, so he'd stuck to the more public areas, checking out diners and arcades and any place he felt a possibly homeless Chino youth might hang out. Well, the Chino youth that wasn't into drugs and gang activities. Which he was pretty sure Ryan wasn't.

Between the two of them, Sandy and Seth had unwittingly been canvassing the area quite well. Unfortunately for them, Ryan had been holed up in a motel room. He'd come down with something and broke down and gotten another room to try to sleep it off. He didn't like using up his money like that but he felt terrible. He was chilled one minute and burning up the next. He'd already been there a week, missing work on top of everything. After the warehouse incident with the knife-wielding pervert, work had been difficult. He had gotten cuts on his arms and hands trying to get away from the guy. He cleaned them up as best he could and kept them wrapped and tried to hide the injuries. He couldn't afford not to work, but the foreman had caught sight of a bloody bandage on his hand and told him to have it checked out at a clinic at least and that he couldn't come back to work until his hand was healed. He couldn't have Ryan risking injury to himself or to anyone else on the job site. Ryan couldn't argue seeing as they guy was already risking a lot by giving him work at all and paying him off the books. So he'd reluctantly agreed. He passed on the clinic, though. He figured all he needed was a few good nights rest and a chance to let the wounds heal a little bit. His right hand hurt terribly and looked a little swollen but he wrote that off at having to continually use it. He'd just give it a rest and he was sure it would be ok.

As a result of the lengthy motel stay, the money he had saved was dwindling away and he didn't know if he was ever going to be able to get his new I.D. and an apartment. He didn't know how anyone on the street was ever able to pull themselves up again. It seemed like a losing battle. The minute he seemed to be getting ahead something would happen to knock him back a few steps.

His next probation meeting was in the morning and he wanted to try to look as presentable as possible. He still felt like shit and his hand didn't seem any better but he couldn't miss his meeting unless he wanted his P.O. checking around and getting his probation being revoked for not going to school and keeping his living situation a secret. He began to think again about foster/group homes or emancipation. His optimism about being able to do it all on his own was waning. He hadn't realized just how much having a house to go home to meant. Even a home housing a dick-wad like A.J.. Sure, he'd have to take a few hits before he made it to his room sometimes but what he wouldn't give to have that option right about now. At least he wouldn't be pissing away the money he was saving for his new start. He was tempted to try calling Mr. Cohen again. Or maybe another lawyer. He liked Mr. Cohen, though. Maybe if he explained everything he'd forgive him for blowing off his son. He decided that he'd go by his office after his probation meeting. It was too late to try him at work again and he didn't want to risk calling his home and having Mrs. Cohen pick up. His stomach churned at the thought. He wondered if you could really get an ulcer from just stressing over shit. If so, he was doomed. He flopped back on the bed with a sigh. Tomorrow was another day. Maybe things will be better.

Seth exited the bus and started for home. The bus stop was down by the pier so he had a bit of a trek home. He was tired. Sleuthing was hard work. Although, he had netted no payoff except discovering a pretty cool arcade and a minty little comic shop that he may or may not have spent a little more time in than he should have instead of looking for Ryan. He'd been getting discouraged. Everyone he'd asked about Ryan said they didn't know him or hadn't seen him. Not that he felt they'd really be forthcoming if they had. He had the feeling that he stuck out like a sore thumb. So all he could really hope for was lucking out and catching sight of him, but the fates were not on his side. Then he stumbled onto this little hole in the wall shop with a pretty rare comic sitting in the window. He could not resist the lure and then had spent an hour talking to the shopkeeper and even bought a couple of issues. So the day wasn't a complete bust. He found himself a new dealer for his comic book fix. Sweet. Finding Ryan would have been way sweeter, though. He rested his hopes on tagging along with his dad tomorrow and seeing Ryan when he went for his probation meeting. _If _he showed up for it. No. He would.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the beep of a horn. He turned to see his dad pulled up beside him.

"Seth? What are you doing here?", Sandy asked as he reached over and opened he door. He had been on his way to pick Seth up from school. He looked at his watch and frowned.

Seth ambled over and climbed in, stowing his skateboard in the back seat. "Uh, I wanted to check out this new comic shop I found!", he exclaimed, holding up the comics he bought as proof. He looked at his dad innocently.

"You skipped school?", Sandy asked with the hint of a smile, as he pulled back onto the road. He'd skipped school a time or two himself. Of course, he wished Seth had some friends to hang out with when he did such things but he couldn't help but be happy at his boy doing the normal teenage things. He'd been so closed off and unhappy here in Newport. He didn't know why he let Kirsten talk him into staying after her mother had died.

"Well, you see, father. I simply felt that I would benefit more, educationally, if I were to get out and experience life for myself as opposed to from a book today", Seth tried to explain.

Sandy snorted, "Ah, I see. You traded an education behind the school walls for an education inside a comic shop and traded traditional book learning for the realism one can find within the pages of a comic?"

"Graphic novel...and yes", Seth smiled, happy that his dad not only bought his story but also didn't seem mad that he skipped classes today at all. Oh how his tune might change if he knew just how often he'd done that these past couple of weeks. "Um, dad? I was thinking...uh, Ryan's probation meeting is tomorrow and I really really want to go", he blurted out.

"I don't know, Seth. For one thing, you should have thought about that before you skipped class today. I don't know about you missing two days in a row and, secondly, I don't want Ryan to feel ambushed. He already might if he feels I'm checking up on him", Sandy said.

Seth frowned, "but, see, that's precisely why I should go. I have mad tension breaking skills. Plus, if he won't talk to you maybe he'll talk to me. You know, solidarity against the authority figures." He looked at his dad hopefully.

Sandy sighed. "All right, Seth. You can go. I'll call Dr. Kim in the morning and tell her you'll be out for _half _of the day, but this is it, Seth. No more skipping class. For a while." He smiled. "And only if there's nothing important going on in class".

"You so rock sometimes, dad", Seth said happily.

"Only sometimes?", Sandy said with mock hurt.

Seth nodded distractedly, "What about mom? What do we tell her?"

"We tell her nothing. We'll just go talk to Ryan in the morning and then you'll go right to school and finish out the day. None of this concerns your mother", Sandy declared. Not really liking lying to her but she's made it clear that she doesn't want to hear about Ryan. There's no sense in stirring her up again.

They arrived home and entered the house to find Kirsten going over some blueprints on the kitchen table. She looked up as they walked in and said, "Sandy? What are you doing home?"

"We wrapped things up at work early and I decided to call it an early day. I picked up Seth on the way home", he stated as he leaned over the table to kiss her.

Kirsten turned her attention to Seth. "Hi sweetie. How was school today?"

Seth rummaged in the refrigerator as he mumbled a "fine. Same old, same old". Then, with a wave, he headed up to his room with a bottle of juice in hand.

Sandy smiled inwardly. If he hadn't already been aware that Seth had skipped school, he never would have known. He tried to catalog his tells. He noted that he hadn't looked Kirsten in the eye and quickly exited the room.

Kirsten's voice pulls him from his thoughts. "How about you, honey? How has work been going? You haven't been around much. I'm surprised to see you home so early", she says as she rolls up the prints and clears the table.

"Work's been work", he says, taking a similar page from Seth's book. "I know I haven't been home much lately but I think things are settling". He decided to change the subject. "How about you? I didn't know you were going to work from home today."

"Oh, well, I get more done here than I can at the office. You know, without dad hovering", she said with a smile. "So, what do you feel like for dinner?"

The rest of the night was filled with similarly light conversation that never really touched the surface. Each holding their own secrets, hoping they'd never see the light of day. Sandy eyed Kirsten at dinner, wine glass in hand. He wondered how much she went through in a day. They should talk about that but he knew they wouldn't. He wondered when exactly they stopped communicating meaningfully and just started going through the motions. Something had to change.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: this chapter will answer the question about the child given up for adoption. A couple of people were wondering if it would be Ryan, but if you pay close attention to the time line it was really impossible for it to be Ryan since I left him the same age as Seth. In order for it to have been Ryan, I would have needed to either age him or make Seth younger and I didn't want to do that. Plus, there have been other fics where Ryan turned out to be the child of Kirsten and Jimmy and I wanted to do something a little different. Don't know how anyone will like it, but it's the way I'm going. lol. **

**For those reading my other fic, I am working on it. It's just not coming as easy as this one is at the moment. I've got about half of the next chapter done and will try to get it finished and posted soon. **

--

Chapter Three

Ryan slowly awoke, drenched in sweat and his hand throbbing. He looked at the clock. Shit. It was already almost eight and he was due at his P.O.'s office at nine. He jumped out of bed and nearly hit the floor. His head was swimming. His stomach felt none too good either. He took a moment to steady himself and then made his way to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He shoved his things in his backpack and headed out the door. The bus was late and his stomach churned. He was going to be cutting it close.

Seth sat in the passenger seat. Bobbing. Weaving. Twisting in his seat, nervously tapping both legs as he scanned the streets for Ryan. His body almost vibrating with anticipation.

Sandy anxiously tapped the steering wheel, also scanning the surroundings. Albeit only with his eyes and a slight movement to his head, as opposed to his son's full bodied approach.

"It's almost nine, dad. You said nine, right? Where is he? What if he doesn't show?", Seth fired off as he reached for his coffee cup.

Sandy frowned, "I don't think you need any more of that, son". He glanced at the clock and turned on the radio. "He'll be here", he said in an effort to assure Seth, as well as himself. He stopped on a station playing show tunes.

Seth looked at him with eyebrows raised. "Uh, remember that thing I was saying yesterday about you being cool? I take it back", he quipped. Something caught his eye and he turned to see Ryan ambling up the street. "There!!", he exclaimed as he leaned forward and pointed. Forgetting that there was a windshield there, he whacked his hand on the glass. "Ow!", he said as he clutched his hand. "Son of a...bi...", he remembered he was with his father..."biig bushy eyebrowed man. That hurt. I think it's broken".

"It's not broken, Seth", Sandy said distractedly as he followed Ryan's progress toward the building. He started to reach for the door handle when Seth stopped him.

"Wait", he said, his hand now forgotten. "Let me go."

"Seth..."

"No, come on, dad. Please. If he sees you he might bolt. Let me talk to him. He only has a few minutes before his meeting", Seth pleaded. At Sandy's nod he started to exit the car.

Sandy grabbed his arm. "I want to speak to him, too, Seth", he said pointedly.

Seth bobbed his head and said, "I know, dad. I'll give him the heads up about the P.O. knowing he's not living in the same place. A little show of faith. He'll talk to you. I'm sure of it". He hopped out and jogged up to Ryan as he approached the steps.

"Hey, man", he said out of breath.

A startled Ryan turned to him and smiled. "Seth, what are you..."

"No time for chit chat. Look, dad went by your house and he knows you're not living there anymore. He let it slip to the P.O. when he was trying to find out where you were and if you were all right", he said in a rush. Inwardly he thought about how good it felt to have someone other than your parents happy to see you. Ryan had smiled when he saw him.

"Shit", Ryan said simply.

"All you need to do is tell him where you and your mom are living now. Even if it's not a permanent place", Seth said as he tried to feel out Ryan's situation. At Ryan's defeated look he said quietly, "You're not with your mom, are you?"

Ryan sighed and admitted as much with a shake of his head. Seth took in his appearance. He was thin and pale and had dark circles under his eyes. In general, he looked like shit. First thing was first, though. "Hey, no problem. Just tell him that you and your mom are staying with friends and give him my cell phone number. It's easy to remember. 555-4800. I'll dazzle him with bullshit if he calls to verify", Seth suggested.

Ryan stood there dumbfounded a moment before Seth gave him a push. "Go, dude. 555-4800", he repeated. Ryan throws Seth a puzzled look before hurrying up the steps and into the building.

Sandy watched from afar. Taking in Ryan's hunched shoulders and sluggish movements. He didn't miss the smile that crossed his face when he saw Seth. He took that as a good sign. He watched as Seth did most of the speaking, no surprise there, and then Ryan slowly turned away and headed up the stairs. Seth sat on the steps and looks toward his car and gave him two thumbs up, indicating so far so good. Sandy sat back and waited for Ryan to reemerge. Within twenty minutes Ryan was exiting the building. He walked toward Seth and sat down beside him. Sandy watched as they conversed. Finally, Seth stood and motioned toward the car. Ryan seemed to have trouble standing so Seth reached down and grabbed his arm. He saw Ryan pull away and grimace in pain and he was out the door moving toward them.

"Ryan? What is it? What's wrong, kid?", Sandy said as he approached.

Ryan didn't look at him. His eyes were clenched shut as he clutched his hand to his chest. The pain in his hand was unbearable and felt like it was shooting up his entire arm.

"Seth?", Sandy turned to Seth and asked.

"I...I don't know. I just reached out to help him up and...he doesn't look good, dad", Seth said.

Sandy knelt down and reached out and brushed Ryan's bangs from his eyes. He could feel the heat emanating from his skin. "Damn. You're burning up, Ryan. Come on. I'm taking you to the hospital".

Ryan didn't even try to protest. He was in too much pain and was actually grateful for having someone there to take control. He was tired of trying to do everything on his own. He was beginning to feel like Sisyphus, rolling that damned rock up the hill only to have it roll back down. He'd let someone else push it for a while.

The ride to the hospital was quiet. Sandy had tried to engage Ryan in conversation, trying to find out what happened and where he'd been for the past few months but Ryan wasn't responding, head back against the seat, hand cradled in his lap, as he tried to breathe through the pain.

Seth was quiet as well. Chewing on his fingernail willing the car to go faster.

They arrived at the hospital and they helped Ryan inside. A nurse took information from Sandy and then took Ryan's temperature and looked at his wound. She rushed him to a cubicle and saw to it that a doctor tended to him immediately.

The doctor emerged and approached Sandy and Seth, introducing himself as Dr. Monroe. He began asking questions about Ryan's injuries. They informed him that they didn't know the details. Seth offers up that Ryan told him that his mom took off and left a note telling him he was on his own and had been living on the street most of the time, finding shelter where he could. He'd told Seth that he hadn't been feeling well and was staying in a motel for the better part of a week.

Dr. Monroe informed them that Ryan had a serious wound on his hand, as well as numerous cuts on his other hand and arms, and stated that they looked like defensive wounds. He told them that a few of the cuts were infected. The most serious one being the one on his right hand, which should have been stitched at the time of injury. Ryan was running a fever of 103.2 and was undernourished and dehydrated, which was adding to his body's inability to fight off the infection. He had ordered an aggressive round of antibiotics to try to halt the progression of the infection, as well as an I.V. to replenish his fluids and nutrients to build up his strength.

"But he'll be ok, right?", Seth asked.

Dr. Monroe looked from Seth to Sandy and said, "The infection is pretty advanced. Even if we can stop the infection from progressing there could be permanent damage to his hand. We'll just have to wait and see how he responds".

"And if you can't stop the infection?", Sandy asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"He could lose his hand", Dr. Monroe stated flat out. "to prevent the infection from advancing to possibly fatal consequences".

Sandy rubbed a hand down his face as Seth gasped.

The doctor softened. "There's a good chance that the antibiotics will work. It looks as though he's tried to keep the wound clean but without it being closed properly there was just no way for him to keep bacteria out of it. We'll just give the antibiotics time to work and go from there", he stated as he let them process everything. "Now, you say his mother left?" At Seth's nod he continued, "we'll have to notify social services unless you know of any other family", he said, looking to each of them.

"No. As far as I know, there's no one", Sandy said.

"Can we see him?", Seth asked.

The doctor hesitated. "Normally, only family is allowed but considering his situation I'll let you in to see him for a moment. We've given him something for the pain so he probably won't last too long before he drifts off."

"Thank you, doctor", Sandy said as they shook hands and he showed them to Ryan's cubicle.

He was pale and still and looked incredibly young.

"Hey, kiddo", Sandy said as he placed a hand on Ryan's shoulder.

Ryan's eyes fluttered opened. "Hey", he said with a small smile.

"Hey, dude", Seth added.

Ryan raised his left hand shakily and they tapped fists in greeting. He turned to Sandy and said, "I'm sorry about all of this. I didn't think it was that bad".

"Don't worry about it. We'll get you taken care of", Sandy said. "You feel like telling us what's been going on? How you got hurt?"

Ryan sighed and pressed his head into his pillow. He was tired and didn't really want to get into it right now but he figured he owed them that much. "Mom took off. I didn't want to do the foster care thing so I thought I'd try it on my own. I didn't think it'd be that different from how things were already. I was wrong", he said with a shrug.

"And the cuts?", Sandy pressed.

Ryan closed his eyes and said, "I was crashing in a warehouse and woke up to this freak on top of me. He had a knife".

Seth quietly started to ask, "dude, he didn't..."

"No", Ryan said quickly, as his eyes popped open again. "I got away but not before...", he gestured to his hand.

"Jeez, kid. Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you tell me when I saw you at the courthouse? I could have helped", Sandy asked.

Ryan looked at him and debated whether or not to tell him that he did call. That he'd called both him and Seth but that Kirsten must have kept it from them. He didn't want to cause problems for their family. He rubbed his eye tiredly and Sandy backed off.

"Look, this can wait. We'll talk later. You get some rest. We'll be here when you wake up", Sandy stated.

"You don't have to do that. They've called social services haven't they?", Ryan asked.

"Yes, they have but we're still staying. Just get some rest, ok?", Sandy replied.

Ryan nodded, his eyes already closed.

Sandy and Seth left him and returned to the waiting area.

"I'm going to call your mother", Sandy declared.

Seth's eyebrows raised. "She's not going to be happy." He patted his dad's shoulder in sympathy as he headed outside to make his call.

Sandy took a breath and dialed. Kirsten was working from home again today. She picked up and he dove in and quickly explained the turn of events. Kirsten took a drink of her wine and forced her voice to remain calm. "Is he going to be all right?", she asked, feigning concern.

"The doctor's not sure. I hope so", he stated. "Kirsten, I know how you feel but I just don't feel right about leaving him alone. Seth and I are going to stay".

Kirsten sighed. "At least bring Seth home, Sandy. I don't want him around that boy".

"_That boy_ is laying in a hospital bed, alone, with no family or friends around him. He's harmless, Kirsten", Sandy said.

Kirsten took another drink.

"What kind of mother just walks away from her child", she heard Sandy say. Her thoughts flashed to her younger self walking away from a hospital. Leaving her child behind and never looking back. How would Sandy feel about her if he knew she was no better than Ryan's mother? Her first born son wouldn't be much older than Ryan. Almost nineteen. Almost the same age she was when she'd signed him away. She hardened herself from those thoughts. She needed to distance herself from this boy. He was stirring up too many memories for her. Jimmy turning his back on her. Her parents pressuring her to give up her child. Her giving in. She could feel the anger and resentment welling in her again. "He's not our child. We are not responsible for him", she stated briskly.

"Kirsten. I want to do this. I want to help him", Sandy replied.

"What about what I want?!", she yelled. "How do you expect to pay for his medical bills, Sandy?", she said pointedly. "I hope you don't expect me to foot the bill. I'm not agreeing to this. Not with my money".

"Your money...", Sandy said, clearly taken aback. She'd never brought money into their arguments before. "I thought it was our money. Yours and mine pooled together. Are we tallying it up, now?"

"Be serious, Sandy. You don't make shit at the PD's office. I bring in the money that keeps us in this house. My house. Given to me by _my_ father"

Sandy listened in disbelief and voiced his thoughts, "Who are you?".

"What?", Kirsten asked with a furrowed brow. "What are you talking about, Sandy?"

"I don't know who I'm talking to. I don't know what happened to the woman I married", he said sadly. "You're not her. I don't know who you are", he said as he hung up, leaving a stunned Kirsten standing in the kitchen.

She poured herself another glass of wine and took a seat at the table. She took a drink, trying to calm herself down. There was no way she was going to let Sandy guilt her into doing something she didn't want to do. She wasn't going to let this boy win. There had to be some way to appease Sandy and get what she wanted as well. She picked up the phone again.

"Caleb Nichol", her father answered.

"Dad, I need your help", she said.

"Not now, Kiki. Whatever it is will have to wait. I'm in the middle of something", Caleb stated.

Kirsten's ire rose. "No, you will listen to me now, dad!". She stood up and started pacing. "I need you to do something for me and you will do it".

"Excuse me?", Caleb said incredulously. "See here, Kirsten..."

"No. You seem to forget, dad, that I know where your skeletons are buried and unless you want some of them to resurface again, I suggest that you shut up and listen to me", she spat out before continuing without letting Caleb respond. "I need you to track down a woman named Dawn Atwood".

Caleb finally interjected, "Atwood? Dawn Atwood? Wh...I...", he uncharacteristically stuttered. His heart quickened. How did she know about Dawn Atwood? Did she know that her first born son was doing time in Chino? Did she know that her baby boy is Trey Atwood? "Why...", he started to question.

"That boy. Ryan. The one that Sandy brought home a few months ago. He's turned up again and Sandy is insisting on helping him. I don't want that hoodlum in my house. His father's in jail. His brother's in jail. It's just a matter of time with this one. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Isn't that what they say? I want you to find his mother and convince her to take him back. Pay her. Pressure her. I don't care. Just get this boy out of my life", she ordered before hanging up.

Caleb sat staring at the phone in his hand. How was he supposed to handle this? Should he tell her about her son? She'd never forgiven him for what happened all those years ago. How would she feel if she knew the kind of life that befell her child? That he was a convicted felon.

They'd sent Kirsten to a private hospital and arranged for a private agency to take custody of the child until they could find a family for him. Through some unfortunate chain of events he'd ended up with Dawn and Frank Atwood. A young middle class couple just starting out. Dawn desperately wanted a family and they'd tried for a child of their own but were unable to make it happen. So they'd adopted a baby boy. Things were going well for the first couple of years, until Frank lost his job and through some strange twist of fate, that child of their own that they desperately wanted before resorting to adoption was suddenly conceived. So there they were looking at two mouths to feed and neither one of them working. Frank wanted Dawn to abort but she'd refused. This was the child she'd always wanted. Her own child. So she'd had the child and Frank had to settle for whatever work he could get. They lost their home and had to move to Fresno. They continued to struggle to make ends meet. Frank started drinking, soon followed by Dawn and things went downhill from there, ending with Frank going to jail for armed robbery and Dawn packing up the kids and moving to Chino and trying to raise the two boys by herself. In the end she resented both children for the way her life had turned out.

Caleb dialed an acquaintance and told him what he needed. He decided not to tell Kirsten about Trey. Judging from her reaction to Ryan, she didn't need to know the truth. If he could get Dawn to take Ryan and disappear, then Kirsten would never have any contact with him again. Thus removing any chance of Kirsten and Trey ever meeting.

Sandy reclaimed his seat in the waiting room with Seth.

"So, how ballistic did she go?", Seth asked.

Sandy sighed.

"That bad, huh?"

Sandy ignored the question and asked if Seth had heard anything more. Seth shook his head and they settled in to wait for Ryan to be stabilized and moved ICU so they could monitor the infection.

Sandy didn't know how much time had passed but, surprisingly, he heard the distinct sound of Kirsten's heels clicking on the floor. He turned and saw her approaching. He stiffened in his seat and waited for the harsh words. They didn't come. She sat beside him with a smile and gave his hand a squeeze as if nothing had happened. "What are you doing here, Kirsten?"

"I'm sorry. I overreacted, Sandy. If you want to be here for Ryan then I want to be here for you".

Sandy studied her, unable to get a read on her.

Sensing his reluctance to accept her words, she tried to offer an explanation for her behavior. "Dad was harping about the model home and I was just having a terrible day. I took it out on you. I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?", she asked.

Sandy wanted to believe her but he just didn't know what to think anymore. She'd been so different when they lived in Berkeley. Newport had changed her, and not for the better. He was too tired to argue now, though. "Of course", he answered. "Of course I forgive you".

All three Cohens sat in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts driven by the boy behind the emergency room doors.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Finally. A quick update. Not any Ryan in here. Not the way I planned it when I started this chapter but when time and inspiration finally coincided and I got some words flowing, it took on quite a different direction. Now, if only I can finish the current chapter of my other fic....**

* * *

Chapter Four

Ryan was finally moved out of the ER and into ICU. He had been taken up to surgery to remove infected tissue in his hand, as well as a couple of other wounds, and stitched up. He was to be monitored there while they tried to get the infection under control. His fever was still hovering at 103 but had not climbed, so they felt that they were on the right track with the antibiotics.

Sandy had spoken to Ryan's social worker once she finally showed up. He was not impressed with her. She was having trouble finding a placement for Ryan and remarked that it was "a stroke of luck" that Ryan was in the hospital, saving her the problem of trying to figure out where to put him for a couple of days. After Sandy had informed her of what he knew about how Ryan ended up on the street she hadn't even bothered to go in to see Ryan or seemed to care about his physical state other than to ascertain just how long she'd have to find a group home for him. Sandy finally stepped up and offered to take Ryan home with them if she couldn't find a suitable placement for him by the time he was ready to be discharged, throwing a look at Kirsten to see if she'd voice any objection. To his relief, she hadn't.

Kirsten had bristled at the look, taking it as him daring her to challenge him but she managed to hold her tongue. If it came to that, it would only be for a little while. Her father would come through. She was sure of it. He'd regret it if he didn't. She longed for a drink. She had tried repeatedly to get Sandy and Seth to come home with her, citing the fact that Ryan was asleep and that Sandy and Seth hadn't been allowed in to see him anyway after his surgery. Sandy had countered with that very fact being the reason he didn't want to leave yet. He wanted to make sure Ryan knew they'd been there all along and would be back. He didn't want Ryan to think he was alone. When Kirsten had tried to argue, he asked her to imagine if it was Seth in that bed. If it was _her_ son all alone in a hospital. Her glut clenched, with her mind immediately going to her first born. Her thoughts wandering and wondering how he was. Where he was. She wanted desperately to leave this hospital and get as far away from Ryan and all of this as she could but she was afraid that once Ryan was awake, he would tell Sandy or Seth about the phone calls. She needed to stay and find some way to make sure he kept his mouth shut. She was brought from her thoughts when Seth spoke.

"Mom? You ok?", he asked.

She turned to him and asked, "What?"

"Are you ok? You look......weird", Seth said. He had been watching her to see how she was reacting to what his dad and the social worker were talking about. He really wanted Ryan to come home with them. She didn't say anything when his dad offered to bring Ryan home but she sure as shit didn't look happy about it. He didn't know what that look on her face meant. Maybe once they got Ryan home and she spent some more time with him she would be forced to see Ryan for who he really was and the temporary arrangement could become permanent.

"I'm fine, Seth", she said curtly as she rubbed her forehead. Her head was pounding. What she wouldn't give to be at home with a nice glass of wine right about then.

"You don't have to stay, you know", Seth replied with a frown. "It could be a while. Dad and I have it covered. I don't know why you're here anyway. You don't even like Ryan". He wasn't sure what was going on with her but he could feel the tension radiating off of her.

Kirsten pursed her lips, "I'm not leaving, Seth. Forgive me for trying to be a good mother and not wanting my son to be associating with a criminal without some supervision".

Seth scoffed. "That's why you're here? To supervise my interaction with Ryan? Are you kidding me? We're in a hospital. Dad's here. Just what do you think he's going to do? " He couldn't understand why she was so set against Ryan. He could kind of understand it before when she thought Ryan had gotten him into a fight but she knew the truth now so why was she still being such a bitch about him? Maybe she'd been infected by the Newpsie virus. Maybe his real mom had been abducted and turned a Newport pod person. He remembered seeing an old sci-fi movie where the pod people had marks on the backs of their necks. He leaned back and to the side, not so stealthily, to try to get a look at the back of hers.

"What are you doing", she asked with a sigh. Her patience was wearing very thin.

Seth put his arms up and did a twisting motion with his body as he said, "uh...nothing. Just...stretching. Hospital chairs, you know?"

Kirsten rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Your father has a big heart and I know you like Ryan but we don't know him. I don't want him manipulating you or your father and taking advantage of your generosity."

"I may not know him well but I know him better than you. So does dad", Seth said, getting annoyed. "He's not manipulating anything. His mom left him. She just took off and left him with nothing. He's got no one. I don't understand why you can't show a little compassion. When did you turn into Julie Cooper?", Seth ranted.

If the mention of a mom leaving a son wasn't the wrong thing to say to Kirsten at that moment, comparing her to Julie Cooper was. Before she even realized it her hand struck Seth's face.

Eyes wide, Seth's hand touched his cheek where she had made contact. The sound of the slap drew Sandy's attention away from the social worker. Shocked, he walked over to them and grabbed Kirsten's arms. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I.....", Kirsten tried to find words. "You.....you didn't hear the way he was talking to me. He...."

"I called her Julie Cooper", Seth finished, still rubbing his cheek.

Sandy looks from Seth to Kirsten. "And that's cause for you to hit our son? I don't know what's going on with you and I don't care right now. Go home, Kirsten", he said firmly as he released her and turned to Seth to see if he was all right.

Kirsten turned to Seth. "Seth, I....."

"Save it, mom", Seth said as he raised a hand to cut her off. He stared at her a moment and then shook his head. He and Sandy turned and walked away.

Kirsten stared after them. They were choosing Ryan over her. She was losing her family to that boy. No. She wouldn't let that happen. Her father would find Ryan's mother and he would go back to live with her and everything will go back to normal. She turned to find hospital staff and the waiting room occupants all looking at her. She schooled her features, straightened and walked out of the hospital.

Sandy stopped Seth and turned to face him. "You sure you're ok?"

Seth nodded. "I never thought she'd do that in a million years", he said softly. "I shouldn't have called her Julie Cooper...."

"Seth", Sandy said as he put his hands on Seth's shoulders. "You didn't deserve to be slapped, no matter what you said. Granted, Julie Cooper is one of your mother's hot buttons but she shouldn't have done that."

Seth sighed. "I think it's all this stuff with Ryan. She's been acting so weird since he came around. It's not pod people, though. I checked. She's still mom".

Sandy's eyebrows raised at that but decided to leave it lay. "I don't think we can lay this all on Ryan's presence. The longer we stay in Newport, the more she changes. This stuff with Ryan is just bringing it to light. I should have never agreed to stay in Newport after your grandmother died."

"I don't know why she wanted to stay in the first place. Grandpa treats her like crap", Seth said.

Their conversation is interrupted by Ryan's social worker. "Mr. Cohen, I'm afraid I'm going to have to rethink allowing Ryan to stay with you, even on a temporary basis. It would seem that you have some things to work out with your wife and I don't believe it would be wise to place Ryan in your care with such tension between you. I need to check on another client. I'll continue seeking out a placement for Ryan and will be in touch". Without allowing Sandy to respond, she wished him a good day and exited the hospital.

Sandy closed his eyes and thought, "damn it, Kirsten". He plopped down in the waiting room chairs and tiredly rubbed his face.

Seth quietly sat beside him wondering if things could possibly get worse.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It was well into the evening before Sandy and Seth were allowed in to see Ryan. The antibiotics weren't working as well as they first thought and his fever had suddenly spiked. It took a few hours to settle on one that the infection finally seemed to respond to. Due to the fever and medications Ryan was disoriented when he started to become aware of his surroundings. He became combative and the nursing staff was unable to calm him. They didn't want his thrashing to damage his hand further so he was put in soft restraints. Dr. Monroe was concerned about Ryan fighting the restraints and tearing open one of the cuts on his forearms so he'd approached Sandy and Seth and allowed them in to sit with Ryan to see if they could keep him calm the next time he should awaken.

Sandy and Seth watched as Ryan would stir and mumble incoherently and then fall still again. Time ticked by and Ryan finally began to surface. The antibiotics finally seeming to have gotten the upper hand.

Ryan's head jerked and his eyes fluttered open. Sandy and Seth stood and approached the bed just as Ryan tried to raise his hand and make sense of his surroundings. He panicked when he found he couldn't move either hand. He registered some pain in his arms and hand. That coupled with the feeling of being restrained pulled him back to the warehouse when he awoke to the man trying to hurt him. He started fighting the restraints and mumbling, "get off me", as he began to struggle harder.

Sandy pressed the call button for the nurse and then reached out and tried to hold Ryan still while he attempted to sooth him and tell him he was safe. The touch seemed to worsen his struggles and Ryan tried to pull away and his voice became louder, "get off me!"

Seth stepped up and gave it a try. "Dude, relax. You're ok, man. It's me, Seth......and my dad......Ryan? You hear me?"

Ryan's breathing remained quick but his struggles slowly ceased as he registered the familiar voice and tried to focus on Seth and then Sandy. He blinked a few times and then sighed and closed his eyes as he connected the dots.

"Are you ok?", Sandy asked.

Ryan opened his eyes and studied Sandy's face. He seemed truly concerned. The only other person to ever look at him like that was Trey, when they were kids. He may have made some bad choices and landed himself in jail but he always tried to look out for Ryan. He didn't always go about it the right way but he did the best he could. Ryan nodded and rasped out, "yeah. Sorry. I didn't know where I was for a second. What happened?"

"Your fever spiked after the surgery on your hand. You remember the surgery?", Sandy asked.

Ryan frowned a moment and then nodded.

"They had to try some other antibiotics, which seem to be doing the trick".

Ryan glanced down at his wrists and before he could ask Sandy explained, "the fever had you a bit out of sorts and they didn't want you to hurt yourself. I'm sure they'll take them off now that you're awake".

Just then the nurse came rushing in. "Well, hello there. Are you with us now?", she asked as she checked his vitals and reached down to loosen the restraints. "There now. How are you feeling?"

Ryan cleared his throat and answered. "Uh, ok, I guess." He felt a little tired and weak but basically all right.

The nurse smiled. "I'll bet you're thirsty", she said as she poured him a glass of water. "Here ya go, sweetie". She held the glass while he took a couple of swallows through the straw and then thanked her. "You're very welcome. You gave us a bit of a scare with that fever but your temperature is continuing to fall now so I think we've got that all worked out. How's your hand? Any pain?"

Ryan admitted that there was some pain but that it wasn't anywhere near as bad as when he came in. The nurse smiled again and said, "well, I don't think you'll get as bad as that again now that we've got that cut all cleaned out properly. We'll keep an eye on it to make sure. If you don't need anything right now I'm going to let Dr. Monroe know you're awake and he'll come down to take a peek at your stitches and make sure everything is as it should be and I'll be back in to help you get changed into some fresh things. These are still a bit damp from your fever." She chuckled at the expression that washed over Ryan's face. "Oh honey. It'll be quick and painless", she said with a wink.

As uncomfortable as he was at the prospect of having someone help him change, he couldn't help but smile shyly. He liked this nurse. She was nice to him.

Sandy watched the exchange with interest. Ryan seemed to drink in the nurse's attention and gentle manner. He didn't imagine his mother ever gave him this kind of care.

The nurse started to leave and then stopped abruptly and said, "oh, how rude of me. My name is Rachael. I shouldn't be long but if I get sidetracked and you need anything just hit the button and I'll come right away. All right, Ryan?". He ducked his head and smiled and she winked again and left the room.

"Dude, do you have this effect on all women? Marissa, Summer and now hot nurse lady?", Seth said with raised eyebrows. "They all fawn all over you".

Ryan scoffed slightly and mumbled, "apparently it doesn't work on moms. Yours or mine". The combination of the lingering fever and the meds letting his thoughts slip past his lips unaware.

Sandy and Seth were standing close enough to make out the words but neither knew what to say to that. Ryan's mother abandoned him and Kirsten hadn't been keeping her feelings about him a secret.

Dr. Monroe's entrance broke the uncomfortable silence. "Well, you're looking better. Nurse Hamilton said you were having some pain in your hand?", he asked as he took hold of it and started to unravel the bandage.

"Some. It's not bad, though", Ryan answered.

"On a scale from 1 - 10, with ten being excruciating, what would you rate it?", Dr. Monroe asked as he gently examined the wound.

"Uh, I guess about a 6", Ryan stated.

"All right. It looks pretty good. I think we got all the bad tissue. The pain you're describing sounds appropriate and you're due for another pain killer shortly so I think we got the infection in time. You cut it close. Any longer and you may have had some serious damage. You could have lost your life", he said pointedly.

Ryan ducked his head at the admonishment. "I get it. I did try to keep it clean. It's just that I had to work. I needed the money and it kept opening back up".

Dr. Monroe softened, knowing Ryan's situation. "I think you did as well as you could under the circumstance and if you hadn't kept it as clean as you did, you wouldn't be doing as well as you are now. Next time, just get yourself to a clinic at least. All right?".

"I'm hoping there isn't a next time, doc", Ryan said with a sigh.

Dr. Monroe patted him on the leg and said, "I hope you're right, Ryan. You were my last stop of the night so I'll be heading out. Do you have any questions before I go?"

"How long will I be here?", Ryan asked. Wondering what happens next.

"Well, I think we have this fever on the run but I want to make sure. So I'll keep you for a couple of more days. I also want to give your hand a little time to heal so I can check the range of motion. I think it will heal just fine but I'd like to keep an eye on it a little while longer. Not to mention getting you rehydrated with I.V. fluids and getting a couple of decent meals in you".

Ryan nodded his acceptance and wondered about the hospital bills mounting but he figured he'd worry about that later. If the hospital didn't seem worried about it then neither would he. He switched gears and asked hesitantly, "Has, uh, the social worker been around? Mr. Cohen said you contacted them."

Sandy stepped up and answered, "She's been here. I spoke with her. She's seeking out a placement for you. " Ryan didn't need to know the rest. He didn't need to know that Kirsten blew their chances of bringing him home with them.

Ryan frowned and looked up at him, sensing there was something more that Mr. Cohen wasn't saying.

Dr. Monroe decides to let Sandy take over. "I'll let you two talk. Ryan? I'll check in with you tomorrow, all right?"

"Ok. Thanks", Ryan said.

Dr. Monroe shook hands with Sandy and told him not to wear Ryan out and then left. Sandy turned back to Ryan and informed him that he had a private investigator looking for his mother. He studied Ryan's reaction and waited for a response.

Ryan fiddled with the bandage on his hand as he shifted his gaze out the window. "What if I don't want to find her?", he said softly.

Before Sandy could respond another voice sounded out.

"What do you mean, you don't want to find your mother?", Kirsten's tight voice came into the room. She had been prepared for the possibility of Ryan's mom needing some persuading to take him back seeing as she was the one who left him but she hadn't anticipated Ryan not wanting to go back with her. She was getting tired of this boy continually screwing things up for her.

All eyes turned to her as Sandy asked, "What are you doing back here, Kirsten?". He sighed. He really didn't want to deal with her again and he sure didn't want Ryan and Seth to have to witness it.

Kirsten stepped further into the room and said, "It's almost nine o'clock, Sandy. I tried to call your phones but they went to voicemail and you clearly didn't bother to check them and you obviously couldn't be bothered to do me the courtesy of calling to let me know when you'd be home. What was I supposed to do, Sandy?"

"Let's take this outside, Kirsten. Ryan needs his rest", Sandy said as he moved to take her by the arm.

Kirsten stepped back. "No, Sandy. I want to hear this. I want to hear why on earth Ryan wouldn't want to go back with his own mother. What are you trying to pull?", she asked as she aimed a pointed glare at Ryan, sure that he was trying to manipulate Sandy into taking him in.

Seth piped up at this point. "Hmmm, let's see. Why would a guy not want to go back with the woman who abandoned him? Yeah, mom, that's a tough one", he said sarcastically. His blood rising at her hostility toward Ryan.

"I'm not talking to you, Seth", she spat out and turned back to Ryan, missing the step back that Seth took, half expecting another slap. Ryan caught the action and it disturbed him.

Sandy stepped up to her and could smell wine on her breath and noticed the glazed look in her eyes.

He pursed his lips and then asked, "How much have you had to drink, Kirsten?"

She turned to him angrily. "Don't you dare turn this around on me. I had a couple of glasses while I was waiting for my inconsiderate family to join me for dinner". Actually, it had been more like an entire bottle and a half. The drive home allowed her to stew over what had happened at the hospital. She felt bad for striking Seth and could understand why Sandy was angry with her. By the time she got home she was quite upset with herself and immediately went to the refrigerator and finished off an opened bottle. It loosened her up and helped her relax. She decided to order dinner and planned to have it waiting for when Sandy and Seth came home and she would apologize. She repeatedly called each of their phones and only getting voicemail. She knew they'd have their phones off while they were there but she thought they'd at least check for calls once in a while. She went to the wine cabinet and opened a new bottle and remained seated at the table with the food and her demeanor getting colder and colder. With call after call getting sent to voicemail, and no word from Sandy or Seth, Kirsten got angrier and angrier. She slowly made her way through the bottle until finally she'd had enough. She got into her car and headed to the hospital.

Sandy shook his head. "I don't believe you only had a couple of glasses, Kirsten. It was probably like 4 or 5. At least. Don't think I haven't noticed how often you seem to have a glass of wine in your hand these days".

They started to argue over her drinking and Seth stood quietly watching. Ryan quietly watched Seth as he watched his parents fight. He felt for him and couldn't help but feel guilty for causing it. He knew Mrs. Cohen had a problem with him and maybe if he could put her at ease things could settle down between all of them. He cleared his throat and said, "Um, Mrs. Cohen?"

Kirsten's angry eyes settled on him.

"I don't mean to cause trouble. I'm not trying to pull anything. It's just that I thought maybe Mr. Cohen could help get me emancipated from my mom. It's not the first time she's taken off and probably won't be the last. I just thought it would be good for me to try to stand on my own. I'm almost 16. Plus, uh, I want to have a place for Trey, my brother, to have to go to when he gets out of jail", he said as he shifted under all of their gazes. "I already have a job and I think I could do it", he said turning his gaze to Sandy. He could see Sandy mulling the idea over in his head. "Look, you know it's going to be hard for social services to find a place for me. With a foster family at least, and I really don't want to do the group home thing. I've done that before and I'd rather not do it again if at all possible. I mean, if that's the only option then ok but if there's any chance that I could do things on my own then I want to try."

Sandy sighed and sat on the edge of Ryan's bed. He felt that Ryan was too young to be on his own but he did seem to be a pretty responsible kid, despite the poor judgment with the car but it wasn't up to him. "I'm sorry, Ryan but I don't think that's a possibilty. With your being on probation for car theft I don't know of a judge who would feel comfortable turning you loose on your own without any adult supervision. Not to mention the fact that the brother who talked you into stealing that car with him would eventually be in the picture again. I'll look into it but I think it's a long shot."

Ryan deflated and dropped his head. He hadn't considered all of that.

Kirsten watched Ryan, trying to decide if he truly had no intention of worming his way into their lives or if he knew all along that he stood no chance of getting emancipated and this was just to play on their sympathies.

Ryan settled back into his bed and sighed. "I, uh, I'm kind of tired. You really don't need to stay."

At Sandy's forming protest, Kirsten said, "He's right, Sandy. You wanted to stay so you could see Ryan. Well, you've seen Ryan. He's fine and you said yourself that he needs his rest. Seth's been here all day and he needs his rest, too. Or is someone else's son more important than your own?"

Seth gaped open mouthed at her and was tempted to check her neck again.

Sandy stiffened and stepped up to Kirsten and said in a low steady voice, "All right, Kirsten. You want to go home? We'll go home. We need to talk." Sandy turned to Seth and told him to say goodbye to Ryan and that they'd be waiting in the car. He grabbed Kirsten's arm and pulled her out of the room before she had a chance to spew any more venom.

"Sorry, dude", Seth said as his eyes followed them out of the room and then settled on Ryan. "I don't know what is wrong with my mom. She's....."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. All of this is my fault. You guys were fine before I came along", Ryan said.

Seth shook his head. "You're wrong, man. Dad and I were talking about it earlier. It's not you. She's just......she's been different since we moved back here. She's suffering from Newpsie Syndrome. Dad said it's been a long time in coming. Before now, we've just kind of done our own thing. We barely ate dinner together or really spent a lot of time with each other. With you around we're just being forced to deal with each other and it's all coming to a head but it's not your fault, man. Maybe it's a good thing. Something's got to give because dad's right. She's been drinking a lot, and for a while now, and to tell you the truth, I can't even stand being in the same room with her."

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, I definitely know where you're coming from there. Look, man, I'm sorry you're having to deal with all of that. I know how much it sucks. " He shifted on the bed and decided to ask the question that was niggling at him. "Hey, uh, has your mom ever........has she ever hit you?"

Seth was quiet a moment. "You know, before today I could honestly say that she never had." His hand subconsciously drifted to his face and he sighed. "We kind of got into it in the hall earlier and she slapped me. Dad was pissed and sent her home". Seth's eyes met Ryan's and he returned the question. "What about you? Has your mom ever hit you?"

It's not something Ryan liked to talk about but feeling a connection with Seth he answered honestly. "Yeah. She drinks, too. Among other things". He shook his head. "She's a mess. Always has been......I'm really sorry that you are kinda going through the same thing now with your mom."

"Thanks, man", Seth said as he raised his hand and they tapped fists. "I'd better go. I think I'm in for a long night".

Ryan had a feeling he was right. They said their goodbyes and Ryan tiredly settled himself into bed and tried to shut off his brain. He wanted to believe Seth but he still felt guilty. They may have had problems before he came along but that didn't change the fact that their current problems and fighting centered around him. He worried about Seth getting caught in the crossfire. He already had and Ryan knew first hand what that was like. Especially when the arguments turned violent. He didn't think Sandy would ever hurt Seth but his mother had already crossed that line. Thoughts about group homes also swirled in his head. He couldn't wait until he was eighteen and he could make his own decisions. He was brought from his thoughts when his nurse, Rachael, sauntered in with a fresh hospital gown in hand. He couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips.

As Seth walked out of the hospital he mentally prepared himself for the ride home. Sandy had pulled the car up to the curb and he hopped into the back seat. His mother sat rigidly in the front seat, clearly unhappy about being a passenger. Seth surmised that his dad wasn't letting her drive home since she'd been drinking. He quietly sighed. Things were definitely about to get worse.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The ride home was thick with tension with not one word uttered for the duration. As soon as they pulled into the driveway Sandy flung the door open and strode toward the house. Kirsten followed determinedly. Seth contemplated remaining in the car.

Sandy walked purposely to the kitchen and opened the door to the kitchen trash can and pulled out an empty wine bottle. He stalked to the kitchen table and firmly planted the bottle next to the other empty bottle still sitting there. He turned to Kirsten, who had entered the kitchen right after him, and said, "a couple of drinks?"

They locked eyes briefly. There was defiance in Kirsten's for a brief moment before she broke contact. She walked to the kitchen sink and stood, staring out the window at nothing. "Fine, Sandy. I had more than a couple of drinks. I was upset. I was waiting and waiting for you to call and you didn't", she tried to reason. She turned to face him and said, "Don't make it into more than it is."

"Don't make it more than it is?!", Sandy exclaimed. "You drank two bottles of wine and......"

Kirsten interrupted, "The first bottle wasn't even full, Sandy. Don't make me out to be a lush!"

Sandy stepped toward her and said, "If the designer shoe fits, Kirsten. A day doesn't go by anymore....hell, every time I see you lately you've got a glass of wine in your hand but that's not the point I was trying to make. The point is that you drank and then drove. If that wasn't bad enough, you waltz into a hospital room to berate a sick boy. What the hell is wrong with you? What is it about a 15 year old boy that was abandoned by his mother that has you feeling so threatened?"

Kirsten scoffs, "Don't be ridiculous, Sandy. I just don't want this boy in our house. I'm trying to protect our son. He's manipulating you. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean I don't."

"Manipulating me?", he said incredulously. "_I_ tracked _him _down, Kirsten. Not the other way around. He's laying in a hospital bed. He's not faking that. He's asked me for nothing, Kirsten. He's been on his own for months and has not asked me for a god damned thing!"

"That's where you're wrong, Sandy!", she exclaimed before thinking. She stopped short, hoping that she could gloss over it and keep him from reading anything into the statement. She couldn't let him know about the phone calls she intercepted. For some reason Ryan hadn't ratted her out but she knew it was only a matter of time. Sandy was already so angry with her. That might be the last straw. "He wants you to take him in. He had to know that there was no chance that he could live on his own, if he's as smart as you say. Not after he stole a car. He was playing on your sympathies."

Sandy rubbed his hand down his face and shook his head. "He's a scared boy, Kirsten. He has no one. He doesn't want to go to foster care. What if it was your son? What if your son was out there with no one to turn to?", Sandy asked tiredly.

Kirsten sucked in a breath and turned away. Thoughts once again drifting to the child she'd given away. No, she told herself. Her son was fine. He was with a good family with a mother and father that love him. He was being taken care of. He was happy. He was safe, she tried to assure herself. She turned back to Sandy. "Stop asking me that. This isn't about my son. My son is fine".

"Fine? I wouldn't be so sure about that", Sandy said.

Kirsten stiffened. What was he saying? Did he know?

At Kirsten's puzzled and somewhat alarmed expression, he explained. "You struck our son in the middle of a hospital."

Kirsten gave a small sigh in relief and said, "It was one slap, Sandy. Is this how it's going to be? Are you going to pick apart everything I do and blow it out of proportion?! You're overreacting...."

"Overreacting?!", Sandy yelled as he threw his hands up. "You slapped our son!........In the middle of a hospital, in front of a social worker! If she takes her job seriously she will report what she witnessed to the CPS office here in Newport. Luckily for you, this social worker seems to just go through the motions, unwilling to do more than the bare minimum so nothing will probably come of it". He hoped. Normally, he wouldn't think too much of it. He was sure that if they did send someone around to do a cursory investigation they wouldn't find anything. They'd see that it was an isolated incident, but if anyone came around to investigate and caught Kirsten having one of her "moments" things could look bad.

Kirsten stood looking at Sandy with a stunned expression on her face, seeing the worry that lay beneath Sandy's words. Her stomach churned at the thought of someone coming to try to take her child from her. She would never let that happen again. "I....", she took a breath. "I didn't mean to hit him, Sandy. It just happened. I....."

"You what, mom?", Seth said, stepping in from the other room where he'd gone unnoticed by both of his parents. He stayed out of the rest of the argument but felt he had a right to be involved in this.

Sandy and Kirsten turned to him. "Seth, maybe you should go upstairs", Sandy said.

Shaking his head, Seth replied, "No. I want to hear this. I'm part of this family. All of this shit affects me, too".

"Watch your language", Kirsten said with a frown, not wanting to have this conversation.

Seth snorted with disbelief. "My language? Nice try, mom. You were saying how you didn't mean to slap me buuuutt.......", he drew out while he encouraged her to finish with a gesture of his hand.

Kirsten's hand flew to her neck as she fingered her necklace nervously. She cleared her throat. "I....", she started but stopped when she took in Seth and Sandy's stances. Seth had his arms folded in front of him with his eyebrows raised expectantly. Sandy stood stoically, his eyes boring into her. Suddenly she felt cornered. Like they were ganging up on her. Any feelings of remorse were quickly replaced with indignance. "You were being disrespectful, Seth. I will not tolerate you speaking to me the way you did at the hospital", she said curtly as she walked to the refrigerator and opened it. She eyed an unopened chilled bottle of wine and unconsciously started to reach for it but before she caught herself and grabbed a bottle of water.

Sandy and Seth blinked. That wasn't what they were expecting.

Sandy was taken aback. "That's it? That's all you have to say to him?", he said tightly. He had seen her hand hesitate at the bottle of wine and knew she wanted a drink.

Seth knew he shouldn't have called her Julie Cooper, which was the equivalent of calling her a bitch, but he at least expected an apology. An "I'm sorry Seth. It won't happen again", even if there was a "but" in there somewhere. He didn't expect the apology to be skipped over altogether.

"What do you want me to say, Sandy?", Kirsten said tiredly. "You let him get away with too much. We both do".

"Whoa. How did this become about me?", Seth said incredulously. "I haven't done a god damned thing. Maybe I shouldn't have called you that but you _were _being a bitch". Seth was through tiptoeing around. She _was_ being a bitch.

"You see, Sandy! Do you see how he talks to me?! He never talked to me like this before Ryan came along. This is exactly why I don't want that boy in this house", she said.

"Ryan? You're blaming Ryan for all of this?", Seth exclaimed, aghast.

"Enough. I've had enough out of you Seth", she said angrily as she stepped toward him.

"Why? What are you going to do, mom? Are you going to hit me again", Seth challenged.

Kirsten turned to Sandy and asked, "Are you going to let him talk to me like that? Do you see how he's pushing me? And you wonder why I slapped him?"

Sandy shook his head. "Unbelievable", he muttered. "You're responsible for your own actions. Not Ryan. Not Seth. You....and you don't have to worry about Ryan living here. You took care of that with that display you put on at the hospital". This was a waste of time. She turned everything around and pointed the finger at everyone else, somehow finding a way to lay everything at Ryan's feet. He was done. "Come on, Seth", he said as he grabbed Seth's arm and started to lead him from the room.

"Where are you going, Sandy? We're not finished", Kirsten asked. "You're the one who wanted this talk. Don't walk away from me!"

"Seth's going to his room and I'm going to the guest bedroom", he said calmly. "If you refuse to acknowledge your part in anything then there's no point in talking anymore. Why don't you have another drink. I'm sure you're dying for one." With that, Sandy and Seth turned and left, leaving Kirsten standing in the middle of the room, fuming.

Kirsten was tempted to open that bottle of wine in the refrigerator. She was dying to but she wasn't about to prove Sandy right so he could throw it in her face. No. She knew what she had to do. She had to make sure that boy knew his place. She had to make sure he wouldn't say anything about the phone calls he'd made to them. She had to make sure he knew he had no chance of staying with them. Once she let him know that she had him pegged, he'd give up. She went for her purse and then remembered that Sandy had taken her keys at the hospital. After he'd dragged her out of he hospital she'd shaken off his grip and started for her car. He stopped her and grabbed her keys and said she was riding home with him and Seth and that she could pick her car up tomorrow. He must have still had them. She couldn't go ask him for the keys and thought about calling a cab but she didn't want to wait. She grabbed her purse and stormed next door. After ringing the bell impatiently, Jimmy answered the door with a frown.

"What do you want, Kirsten?", he asked.

"I need your car", she stated. "Now, Jimmy!"

"You can't come over here and demand my car. Why don't you tell me what's going on", he said, annoyed. What the hell was he thinking getting involved with her again. He should have known nothing good would come of her moving in next door to him and Julie. He never quite understood that turn of events. When she'd first returned to Newport she had nothing but contempt for him. He didn't blame her. He knew she had wanted to keep their child and had never gotten over it. He just wasn't ready to be a father at the time. Fate told him differently when he got Julie pregnant so soon after Kirsten. Over the years his thoughts sometimes drifted to his first born. His son. Especially after having two daughters with Julie. It would have been nice to have a son but it was done. They'd given him away. After Kirsten had returned, he tried to mend fences but she would have none of it. She was dealing with her sick mother and her father trying to guilt her into staying in Newport instead of going back to Berkeley. Something she had been vehemently against and then, suddenly, the house next door came up for sale and Kirsten and Sandy moved in and her whole demeanor toward him changed. They kept finding themselves thrown together for this function or that charity. Slowly old feelings started to resurface until finally they ended up going at it hot and heavy in an empty room at one of the functions. Even then, Kirsten was hard to figure out. It seemed like she wanted it just as much as he had but when they finished she got the strangest smile on her face, got dressed and left. After that they continued to sleep together but only on her terms. He was shaken from his thoughts by her angry voice.

"I don't have time for this, Jimmy. Give me your keys unless you would like your wife to find out you've been screwing your neighbor for years", Kirsten said.

Jimmy's mouth dropped open as he looked behind him and then stepped outside and closed the door. "You wouldn't. You have just as much to lose as I do".

"Try me", she said coldly. Ryan was already jeapordizing her marriage and if Jimmy didn't lend her his car so she could shut the boy up and get rid of him then she had nothing to lose anyway.

Seeing the contempt in her eyes, he realized something. Kirsten had never stopped hating him for the past. Had she been using him so she could toss him aside the same way she felt he had used her and thrown her and their child away? He handed the keys over. "Don't push me too far, Kirsten", he warned.

She smiled ferally, seeing the connection go off in Jimmy's eyes. He had finally figured it out. He could make threats but she still held all of the cards. She could discredit him easily enough. Men should learn not to make bedroom confessions. She knew all about his embezzling from his clients in order to support Julie's spending habits. Without a word she turned and walked away, toward Jimmy's car.

From the guest room of their house, Sandy had seen Kirsten walk next door, after having heard the front door close. He watched the tense interaction and then saw her get into Jimmy's car and drive off. He wasn't certain but he had a good idea of where she was going. Her tendency to blame Ryan for everything led him to believe she was heading to the hospital after the fight they had all had. He grabbed his keys and decided to follow her. Ryan was in no condition to deal with Kirsten. He knocked on Seth's door and quickly filled him in. Seth insisted on coming along and Sandy reluctantly agreed. These confrontations couldn't be good for Seth but he really felt a need to get to the hospital and minimize any damage Kirsten might do.

Kirsten arrived at the hospital and parked next to her car. She strode inside and played on the night nurse's sympathies, insisting that she just wanted to make sure Ryan was all right. The poor boy was all alone after all. She walked into his room to see him asleep, with restraints on his wrists. In her mind it only proved that he was dangerous.

Ryan had been sleeping restlessly so, once again, the nurses had put him in soft restraints so he wouldn't hurt himself. He'd been having a bad dream and jerked his arm, causing a sharp pain go shooting up his arm and bring him to the surface. He heard the door to his room colse and he thought that maybe it was Rachael coming with another painkiller so he was quite surprised to see Mrs. Cohen standing there. He tried to push himself up but felt the restraints. His heart quickened. He felt uncomfortably vulnerable with this angry woman standing above him. He cleared his throat and said, "Mrs. Cohen?"

"I think we need to get a few things straight", Kirsten said as she stepped closer to the bed.

Ryan shifted away from her as much as the restraints would allow.

If Kirsten noticed the action she didn't acknowledge it. "You like Sandy and Seth, don't you?", she asked. At Ryan's nervous nod, she continued, "and you don't want to hurt them, right?"

"N..no. Of course not", Ryan said quickly.

"Well, you are hurting them . You're hurting my family. My marriage", Kirsten stated.

"I...I don't mean to. I just want...."

"I don't care what you want. I care about my family. So here's what _I _want, Ryan. I want you to suck it up and go wherever social services places you and I want you to assure Sandy and Seth that you're fine. That you'll _be_ fine. I want you to keep your mouth shut about those phone calls you made to my house. I want you to leave my family alone", Kirsten said venomously.

Ryan blinked, but said nothing. He was used to having someone all over his ass for things he couldn't understand. He figured he'd just let her have her say. It wasn't like he could do anything anyway. He was completely at her mercy laying there in that bed not able to move.

"Why _haven't_ you told Sandy that you called? What's your game, Ryan? Are you trying to play me now? Showing me that you're not so bad? That I can trust you? Well it won't work. I'm on to you and I know it's only a matter of time before you rat me out and tell Sandy you called him for help and about all of those messages you left for Seth....."

She stops at the sound of the door closing. She turns to face Sandy and Seth, faces full of outrage. An equally angry Nurse Hamilton standing directly behind them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Wh...what are you doing here, Sandy?", Kirsten sputtered.

Sandy ignored the question, the cold words he overheard her saying to Ryan swirling in his head. "What phone calls, Kirsten?"

At the same time, Seth asked angrily, "Ryan left messages for me? What the fuck, mom?"

Kirsten swung her head to Seth, "Watch your language, Seth. I mean it".

"Fuck you, mom", Seth challenged coldly. "I can't believe you've been lying all this time".

"Don't you dare talk to me like that", Kirsten said, stepping toward Seth, hand poised for a slap.

Sandy grabbed her arm just as Nurse Hamilton erupted.

"Enough! All of you, out! NOW!", Rachael yelled. She rushed over to Ryan who had closed his eyes tightly at the raised voices and escalating tension. She'd noticed his hands clenching and pulling against the soft restraints and could see a spot of red on the bandage wrapping his injured hand. She reached out and gently covered his hand with hers and whispered, "Ryan, honey? You need to relax. You're hurting yourself". She gently caressed his clenched fist, trying to coax it open. "Come on, honey. You need to relax your hand...", she said softly as she took off the restraints. He opened his eyes at the soft voice and his breathing started to even out. "That's it, darlin'", Rachael said with a smile.

The Cohens had quieted at Rachael's outburst. Sandy paled at the sight of Ryan. He started to move toward him offering apologies, which set Kirsten off again.

"For christ's sake, Sandy. Stop treating him like he's helpless. He knows exactly what he's doing", Kirsten said. "Yes, he called you for help a couple of months ago. Yes, he called and left messages for Seth. Don't you see? You said he hadn't asked you for a thing. That's because I stopped him. He's wanted something from you all along..."

Rachael noticed Ryan tense again. She pursed her lips and left his side. "I think you all need to leave this room...this hospital...and deal with your...drama. Ryan needs his rest and he sure as hell doesn't need to listen to all of this", she said as she went to usher them all out of the room. "I shouldn't have allowed you in here in the first place. Out now!", she said firmly, herding them all into the hall before turning her sole attention to Kirsten. "And you. I allowed you to con your way in on the pretense that you were worried about Ryan. That was my mistake. A mistake I won't allow anyone else to make. You stay away from that boy. If you set foot on this floor again security will be at your side so fast your head will spin. I assure you. Now get out."

"Wait", Seth spoke up. "Can I stay and talk to Ryan? I won't upset him. I swear. Please, I...I need to talk to him. Just for a minute", he asked in a rush.

Kirsten answered before Rachael could speak. "No, Seth. You can't. We're going home to settle this once and for all".

Seth narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I'm not going anywhere with you." He turned to his dad. "I'm not going home. I don't want to be in the same house with her. Take me to a hotel or something. A motel even. Under a bridge. Anywhere but home with _her_."

Sandy looked at Seth and sighed. "I understand how you feel, Seth, but we're not going to a hotel."

"Fine, but I'm staying in the pool house", Seth said firmly with arms crossed in defiance.

Sandy nodded, "Fine, Seth". He was tired of fighting. He took a deep breath and turned to Rachael. "Look, I'm sorry for all of this but I'd like to speak to Ryan before we go. Please. I can't...I can't leave it like this. I need him to know that none of this is his fault. I need to make sure he's all right".

"Sandy...", Kirsten started to say.

Sandy held up a hand. "Go home Kirsten. It's late. We'll talk in the morning."

"Sandy", Kirsten pleaded. "Come home with me now. We'll work it all out. I'm sorry I lied but I was only trying to protect you and Seth".

"For God's sake, Kirsten. Just stop. We're going in circles. Just...just go home. Seth and I will be home in a little while", Sandy said as he tiredly rubbed a hand down his face.

Rachael rolled her eyes as they started bickering again. She didn't have time for this nonsense. She went back in to see to Ryan.

"Sandy, please. Come home with me now", Kirsten pleaded. In her mind, Sandy was choosing Ryan over her.

"We'll be home, soon, Kirsten. I want to make sure Ryan is all right. He's got no one", Sandy said, feeling like a broken record.

"He's fine, Sandy. He's got that nurse. She'll look after him. Didn't you hear me before? He called, Sandy...and he called Seth time and time again. You said he hasn't asked you for anything but it hasn't been for lack of trying", Kirsten said.

"He wanted help, Kirsten. That's all. He had nowhere to turn", Sandy once again tried to explain.

Kirsten scoffed, "There are plenty of people he could have gone to. You heard him earlier. He's been through all of this before. He doesn't need _you_, Sandy. What is it about this boy that has you so willing to disregard my feelings. So ready to risk our marriage. Our family."

"The only threat to our marriage is you", Sandy said angrily. "I don't know who you are anymore. You're not the woman I married. Moving to Newport after your mother died was a mistake. The moment we came here the woman I loved started to disappear."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm the same person I always was", Kirsten said, although she knew it wasn't true. Deep down she knew she was different away from this place. Away from her parents oppressive control. Away from their constant criticisms. Coming back to help with her sick mother was the last thing she had wanted to do but what kind of person would she be if she refused to help her dying mother? So she'd done her duty as a daughter. She tended to her needs at her beck and call. She endured her lashing out in fits of frustration at her failing body. She sat by her bedside day after day, silently taking whatever she dished out. Her mother got weaker and weaker but her tongue never lost its bite and she felt powerless to respond to the endless negativity that poured from her lips as she watched her wither away. She listened to reminders of the disgrace she had caused them for getting pregnant by Jimmy. Belittling comments about her running away to school like a coward and comparisons to the way Jimmy had toughed it out and stayed and become a well respected family man. She listened to insults about her husband and even her son when her mother was in true form. She sat and took it all, guilt mixed with hate as she waited for the day her mother fell silent for good. She was relieved the day it finally happened and she felt like a horrible person for feeling it. Her father had loved her mother and she could see his grief, and each time she did she felt worse and worse for not feeling the loss to any deep degree herself. He had started working on her the second she set foot back in Newport, trying to get her to move back, despite his dislike for Sandy. She'd resisted his attempts at first but his and her mother's constant barrage had wore her down and she'd reverted back to the girl who had let them take her child from her. At the same time, though, she had started to become more and more bitter. Bitter about them being the cause of her losing her first love and her first child. Bitter at seeing Jimmy so happy with Julie and the child he'd decided to have with her, after so easily signing away the child they'd created. So while guilt initially spurred her to give in to her father and stay in Newport, she also saw opportunity when the house next to the Coopers came on the market.

"No, Kirsten. You're not. You're a shell of the woman I married. A cold empty shell", Sandy said sadly. "The woman I married would want to help this boy. She would want to do for someone else's son what she'd want done for hers if it was him in that bed, with no one to turn to".

"I told you to stop comparing him to my child, Sandy. He's not my child. Wherever he is, my child is fine!", Kirsten said, her anger letting the words slip out uncensored. "He's being taken care of!"

Seth's brow furrowed in confusion. _Wherever he is_. What the hell did she mean by that? _I'm right here_, he thought. _He's being taken care of?_ Huh?

"What are you talking about, Kirsten?", Sandy asked calmly before his brain started making the connections. He'd heard whispers and gossip when they moved to Newport but he didn't pay attention. People talked and things got twisted as they went through the grapevine. He thought it was just idle gossip. He knew that Jimmy was her high school sweetheart and he knew that things had ended badly between them from the few things she'd let slip when they were first going out but he felt that surely she'd have told him if they'd had a child. It appeared that he had been wrong.

She looked at Sandy and saw the recognition in his face. Her breath hitched. "Go ahead, Sandy. Tell me I'm no better than Ryan's mother. I left my child", she said as tears welled in her eyes. "I don't even know where he is...if he's ok...if he's even still alive. What kind of mother am I?, she sobbed.

Sandy moved toward Kirsten, finally gaining some understanding at her actions since Ryan came into their lives. He represented what she'd lost. What she'd given away.

Kirsten stepped back and said, "Don't. Don't look at me like that. I know what you're thinking. I know what you're both thinking...I gave my son away and I didn't look back..."

"So, it's true. You and Jimmy had a child...", Sandy calmly stated.

Seth stood looking back and forth between them, stunned. He had a brother. Jesus and Moses, he had a brother. "Wait, you and Jimmy Cooper had a affair?!", Seth asked incredulously. His mouth working faster than his brain.

Kirsten paled.

Sandy immediately jumped in to cut off Seth's train of thought. "No! Of course not, she..." he looked to Kirsten and took in her shell-shocked expression and stopped short. Her face was full of guilt.

Her face had drained of all color at Seth's question. She cast a panicked look at Sandy and tried to speak. "I...Sandy, I..."

Sandy felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. "You and Jimmy..."

Kirsten saw no sense in trying to deny it now. "It's not what you're thinking. It meant nothing...I don't care about him, Sandy. I...I could never forgive him for giving away our child."

"I don't understand what you're saying, Kirsten. You don't care for him but you've been sleeping with him?", Sandy asked, confused at her explanation.

"He had everything, Sandy. Everything I should have had with him. I couldn't let him have everything", Kirsten said.

Sandy stepped back, nausea building. "Are you saying that you had an affair with him as...as revenge?! Is that what you're telling me, Kirsten? You've been sleeping with him to get back at him? Explain to me how that works, Kirsten. How is sleeping with him a way to get back at him?", he asked, trying to make sense of it all.

Kirsten closed her eyes, tears trickling down her face. She sniffed and took a breath. "I...I wanted him to know what it felt like to be used like that. All of that time we were together meant nothing to him", she said as she choked back sobs. "He...he just walked away from me, Sandy...me and our child...and when I came back he...he was already with Julie. He got her pregnant. He had a child with _her_, Sandy. He married _her_! How could he marry her and not me? How could he have kept their child and not ours, Sandy. I couldn't let them have it all. I couldn't. Don't you see, Sandy?", she said desperately.

Seth stood looking at his mother. Shocked at the twisted words that had just come from her mouth. She had finally gone batshit insane.

Sandy couldn't deal with this now. "Go home, Kirsten", he said pointedly. "It looks like Seth and I will be getting a hotel room after all".

"No. Sandy, wait. It's over with Jimmy. It's over. Come home with me and we'll talk. Let me explain it to you. I can make you understand", Kirsten begged.

Sandy shook his head and turned away.

"Sandy...you can't choose this boy over me. I'm your wife. Just...just come home..."

Sandy strode to her angrily and grabbed her by the arms. With a low growl he said, "I'm not choosing Ryan over you. This isn't about Ryan. It never has been. This is about you living in the past ever since we came to Newport. This is about you fucking Jimmy Cooper so you could rip his life apart the moment the mood struck you. Wasn't that the plan?" He took a breath. "Go. Home", Sandy said firmly as he released her arms and gave a slight push. He turned and walked away, pulling an uncharacteristically mute Seth along with him.

Kirsten faltered at the push before gaining her footing. She wiped her eyes and gathered herself as she left, her mind trying to come up with a way to fix this but coming up blank. She'd lost.

Sandy and Seth settled in a waiting room. Sandy turned to Seth, "Are you all right, son?"

Seth raised his eyebrows, "uh...that would be a no, dad. It's like I walked into an episode of The Valley".

"Right. Stupid question. Do...do you have any questions? I don't know that I can answer them all but I'll tell you what I can", Sandy said tiredly. He felt like this was the longest day of his life.

"Soooo, mom and Jimmy Cooper...had a baby...back when they were in high school...and they didn't keep it", Seth laid out the facts as he was able to discern. "then Jimmy knocked up Julie and married her...which, ouch for mom by the way...and now mom was having an affair with Jimmy so she could ruin his marriage. Is that it? Is that where we currently find ourselves?"

Sandy gave an empty laugh. "I think you've got a good handle on things, Seth. Now, if you could explain it to me...", he said with a sad smile.

"So what now, dad? What are we going to do? Mom's...she's...she's messed up", Seth said. He was angry with her for lying to them about Ryan. He was angry about her lying to them about him having a brother out there somewhere. He'd always wanted a brother and he'd had one all of this time. He was angry at the way she had hurt his dad by having an affair. Despite that anger he found himself feeling sorry for her, too. She was kind of a pathetic mess.

"I don't know, son. I need some time to sort things out", Sandy said as he rubbed a hand down his face. "We'll go to a hotel and maybe look for an apartment. I can't stay with her now, Seth. You understand?"

Seth just nodded. He understood but still couldn't help but feel a little panicked at the thought of his family breaking apart. He hadn't exactly been happy with things and could hardly stand being in the same room with his mom but there was something about knowing she was there, and that they were still all in the same house. What the fuck was going to happen now?

"Look, Seth. It's been a long day. Let's go see if we can say goodnight to Ryan. Check on him and then we'll try to get some rest. We'll deal with everything else tomorrow", Sandy suggested.

"Ok", Seth said with a nod.

As soon as Seth stood Sandy pulled him into a hug. One he needed just as much as he felt Seth probably needed. They parted and walked toward the nurses station, looking for Rachael. They saw her exit Ryan's room and come toward them.

"How is he?", Sandy asked.

"Can we see him?", Seth asked at the same time.

Rachael sighed. "He ripped open some stitches. I have to take him up so they can close the wound back up. Outside of that, his blood pressure's up. He's fidgety and restless...". She looked to them. "He really needs to rest." She studied both Seth and Sandy and took in their defeated posture. She mentally shook her head. They've all been through the ringer tonight. Maybe it will do them all good. "Ok, I'll let you in to see him but only for a few minutes. I'm going to get a wheelchair to take him upstairs. You have until I come back and then from here on out I won't be allowing anyone in to see him without expressed permission and only if Ryan agrees. Am I clear?" At two nods of the head she gave them a smile and headed off to fetch the wheelchair.

As they approached Ryan's room Sandy stopped Seth to say, "Ryan doesn't need to know about...everything. He doesn't need to be worrying about Kirsten and our problems right now. We don't tell him anything about that. Agreed?"

"Agreed", Seth said as he pushed open the door.

Ryan was laying back in the bed, mind racing, wondering what was going on outside. He felt terrible for causing the Cohens so much trouble. His turned his head at the sound of the door opening and saw Seth and Sandy entering his room. He tried to push himself up in the bed but his hand was throbbing.

"Whoa. Hold on there, kid. Let me help", Sandy said as he approached the bed. he reached out and adjusted the bed to a sitting position. "Is that better?"

Ryan gave a small smile and nodded. "Thanks", he said softly before a frown settled on his face. "Look, I, uh...I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"Stop right there, kid. None of this is your fault. Any problems Kirsten and I are having started long before you came along", Sandy said.

"Yeah, dude, it's like I said before. We just can't avoid it anymore", Seth said before changing the subject. "So, you did call me", he said, unable to keep the smile off his face. "Cool. I thought you blew me off".

Ryan shook his head. "I...I wouldn't do that to you".

"So why didn't you tell me that at the courthouse, Ryan. I was a bit short with you and I'm sorry for that but if you'd told me...", Sandy was saying before Ryan interrupted.

"I didn't want to cause trouble. I didn't think there'd be much you could do since your wife didn't want me around. Like I said, I'd done the group home thing before and I didn't want to do it again. I thought I could make it on my own. It's not like my mom exactly took care of me when she was around so I thought I could handle it", Ryan rushed to explain. He turned to Seth, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep lying to you and I didn't want to drag you into my mess..." He looked down. "...but I guess I did anyway. I dragged you all into it. I shouldn't have called at all."

"Hey", Sandy said softly, waiting until Ryan met his eyes before continuing. "None of that. I'm glad you called. I'm just sorry I wasn't there to take it and I'm sorry that Kirsten took it upon herself to intervene. She had no right to do that."

"I...she was just looking out for you. She doesn't know me. None of you do really. She was right to...", Ryan said.

Seth jumped in, "No, dude. Stop. That was a suck ass thing she did. She's...". He stopped himself. He didn't want to talk about his mom and saying any more would probably make Ryan feel worse.

Sandy took over. "Look, Ryan. Let us worry about Kirsten. Right now you need to focus on you. Rachael's going to be back soon to take you to have that hand tended to and we just wanted to make sure you're all right and to let you know that everything is fine. We're fine. Everything Kirsten said is more about Kirsten than it is about you. You are not the problem here. All right?", Sandy stated.

Ryan chewed his lip, feeling that there was more going on but he nodded just the same.

"All right. We're going to go but we'll be back in the morning to check in on you", Sandy said.

"You don't have to do that. I'm ok", Ryan said. Part of him not wanting to cause any more friction but part of him grateful to know that they wanted to come back. It was nice to know that _someone _cared about him.

Sandy smiled and patted his leg. "I know we don't have to, Ryan. We want to."

"Yeah, dude. We'll see you tomorrow. We'll even sneak you in some real food", Seth said as Rachael entered the room with an orderly.

"All right, everybody out. Your chariot awaits", she said.

Seth tapped fists with Ryan and said, "later, dude."

"We'll see you in the morning", Sandy said as Ryan smiled and nodded.

Rachael gave Sandy a stern look. "Not too early", she said firmly but with a hint of a smile. It was clear to her that these two cared about Ryan and the kid needed someone to. She just hoped they kept that ice queen away from him.

She and the orderly helped Ryan into the chair and she wheeled Ryan out of the room. Sandy sighed. "Let's go, son". He put his arm around Seth's shoulder and they walked out, both thanking Jesus and Moses that this day was finally over.

They found a nearby hotel. Not too expensive but not too scary. Sandy made sure Seth got settled and hoped he'd be able to get some sleep. The kid had a hell of a lot dropped on him today.

He sat on the bed, trying to sort out the myriad of thoughts running through his head. As hurt as he was at the revelation of the affair, and everything else that had come out tonight, he still loved Kirsten. That didn't just stop. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to forgive her but he did know that he didn't want to see her continue on as she had been. Their marriage may not survive but she was Seth's mother. He needed her. He thought back to her words at the hospital about giving her son away and not looking back. It was clear to him that she was doing nothing but looking back. The moment they set foot in Newport she was drawn back to the past, trapped in that moment, never being able to move on from having to give up her child. Obviously something she regretted. Something she hadn't wanted to do. He tried to imagine a teenage Kirsten being pressured by her parents. Even as a grown woman she had a hard time standing up to her father. He shook his head. Kirsten has a son out there. The only way she was going to be able to move on and have any chance of pulling herself together was if she was able to make peace with that and the only way Sandy felt she could do that was to find out what happened to her son. If she somehow saw that he was ok, then maybe she'd finally be able to accept it. That meant that he had to pay Caleb a visit. If he cared at all about his daughter, he'd want to help her. Things were a mess but maybe tomorrow he could start picking up the pieces and salvage what he could.

--

**A/N: Whew! This was a tough one but I got it all out there. Well, almost. All that's left is the identity of Kirsten and Jimmy's child. Anyway, this one gave me fits. I wrote and rewrote and then went back to what I had originally started with and then ended up mishmashing it all together. So I don't know how well it flows. If at all. lol. But I wanted to get things moving. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: First off, thanks for the reviews:) I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story. **

**Secondly, a couple of reviews were still questioning the identity of the baby Kirsten gave up for adoption. The identity was revealed in Chapter Three, so you must have missed that part;). It's not Ryan. He's the same age as Seth so he was never a possibility. **

**Thirdly, I flip flopped again with this one a great deal and couldn't decide just how I wanted to handle the reveal. So after much going back and forth and writing and erasing and re-writing and then erasing that and going back again, I just bit the bullet and threw this together this morning. I just now finished it and am just throwing it up without re-reading again so I don't change my mind again. lol. so, as usual, apologies for mistakes and all that. I hope it isn't too choppy. I punked out on a lot of scenes and instead of doing the actual dialogue and interaction, I resorted to recapping so it might be overly expositiony but if I tried to do the actual scenes I fear it'd be another week before I updated. lol. **

**Also, a quick reminder that Marissa is older than the boys in this fic. Don't worry, Beachtree. She only gets a passing mention. lol. **

**--**

Chapter Eight

Seth awoke and took a second to realize where he was. Then everything came crashing back to him. They were at a hotel because his mom was a raging vengeful nutbag. It had taken him a while to fall asleep. He remembered seeing his dad sitting in the dark trying to make sense of everything when he finally closed his eyes. He felt bad for him. He couldn't believe his mom had cheated on him. He rose from his bed and went quietly to the bathroom and started pacing. He needed Captain Oats. They needed to have a serious pow wow. He reached down and started unrolling toilet paper and scrunching it up and, after some time and effort, as well as almost an entire roll of toilet paper, he had formed something that somewhat resembled a horse. He would have to do until he could get his hands on the real thing. He exited the bathroom to find his dad awake, standing at the window. Shit, how long had he been in there?

"Hey, dad", he said.

Sandy turned to him and said, "good morning, son." He dropped his gaze to the object in Seth's hand and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's Lieutenant T.P.", Seth explained. "Since Captain Oats is in enemy territory, his second in command is holding down the fort".

Sandy couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. He shook his head in amusement, then rubbed his forehead. Seth must be pretty freaked out if he feels he needs his security object so badly that he made himself a replica.

"Um, dad?...I'm really sorry. You know, about mom", Seth said. "I should have said that last night but, yeah, last night was all kinds of crazy. "

Sandy smiled sadly, "thanks, Seth. I appreciate that." He sighed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Seth frowned and shook his head. "Not really. I mean, it's all screwed up but there isn't really anything to talk about."

Sandy sat on the bed and encouraged Seth to sit as well. "Seth, I know it's a lot to process but if and when you want to talk, I'm here." At Seth's nod he continued. "We have some decisions to make. We can try to share the house with your mother while we decide where to go from here but I really don't think that will work. Not with the way your mother has been reacting to things. I think it's best that I find an apartment. I think you should stay with me. I hate to say it but with the way you're mother has been behaving, I just wouldn't be comfortable with you alone in that house with her. She struck you once and was ready to strike you again last night and with her drinking as much as she has..."

"Whoa, dad. Hold up. If you think there was any chance of me wanting to stay with mom, especially without you there, then you have jumped on the crazy train, too", Seth said.

"I just don't want you to feel like you don't have a say and I want you to know that under any other circumstances I'd allow you to choose on your own", Sandy said.

Seth nodded and said, "I get that and it's cool, dad. I mean it sucks but I know the score".

Sandy sighed. "All right then...I'm going to go see Caleb today and see what he knows about the baby she gave up. It's clear that she never got over giving him away and it has your grandparents fingerprints written all over it. I don't believe she ever would have given him up if she wasn't pressured to."

Seth fidgeted with Lieutenant T.P. for a second before asking, "sooooo, you're going to track down...". He didn't know how to finish. Technically this person would be his brother but they'd never met. He belonged to another family.

"_I'm_ not. I'm going to ask Caleb to. He broke her, he can fix her.", he said unable to keep the bitter edge from his voice. The more he let it all sink in last night the angrier he'd gotten. How long had she been sleeping with Jimmy? Is that why she'd accepted the house as a gift from Caleb? So she'd have easy access? Had it been going on that long? The thought disgusted him. He stood up and walked back to the window. "Maybe if she knows her son is safe...she'll be able to finally move on."

Seth watched his father, hating how much he was hurting. He wanted to know about the baby his mom had given away, too, but didn't want to say that to his dad right now. How could he say how much he wanted to meet his brother? The kid his wife had with another man. The man she had now been cheating on him with.

Sandy's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "I was thinking, Seth, if I can find a place quickly, maybe I could get Ryan's social worker to change her position on Ryan staying with us. She only withdrew the option because of what happened at the hospital with Kirsten and if we're no longer living in the same house I might be able to persuade her to give it a chance. Maybe...maybe we can find some good in all of this."

Seth instantly perked up. "Really? You think she'd go for it?"

"I hope so.......I think I'm going to quit the PDs office. I don't make much money there. I had an offer from a private law firm recently. With any luck the offer is still on the table", Sandy said, thinking out loud and trying to come up with a plan. Throwing his focus on anything other than his failed marriage.

Seth frowned. "But you and mom are loaded. Why do you need to change jobs?"

Sandy shook his head. "That house...the money...it's all your mother's. You know that. Yeah, I could stake my claim to half of it when we divorce but I don't want her money. " He didn't want to add that in her current state of mind Kirsten would probably be vindictive enough to deny him access to "her" money the second she found out he was really leaving her, and taking Seth with him.

Seth couldn't help the flinch from the word "when" instead of "if". He couldn't blame his dad at all for wanting a divorce but he really didn't ever imagine that he'd end up being one of those kids. Maybe if his mom could pull herself together, his dad could forgive her in time.

"It's early yet so why don't we order some room service and have breakfast. Nurse Hamilton said not to come too early. We'll eat and then I'll go talk to your grandfather.", Sandy suggested. He wanted to go see Caleb and be done with it. He couldn't think about Kirsten right now. "After I see to that I want to stop at my office and I'll make a few calls and see if I can find us a place and get the ball rolling for when I talk to Ryan's social worker."

Seth nodded. "Ok, cool." His head was spinning a little at how fast his dad was moving. Not that he didn't understand it. It was just that one second they were one happy...ok, not so happy family, and now they weren't. They weren't going to be a family at all soon. He squeezed his faux Captain Oats and took a breath.

"Hey", Sandy said softly. When Seth turned to look at him he said, "I know it's happening fast. I...I know it's a lot to deal with and I'm sorry, son. We'll get through this."

"It's ok, dad. I...I get it. I do...and I'm sorry, too, but it would be great if Ryan can come stay with us", Seth said.

Sandy put his arm across Seth's shoulders and pulled him close. They sat in silence for a moment before Sandy gave his shoulder a squeeze and stood. He went to the phone and ordered something to eat for both of them. They went about getting cleaned up and then sat down for breakfast when it arrived. Neither one ate much. They picked at their food until Sandy finally declared it time for him to get on the road. "I shouldn't be too long. Are you going to be ok here?", he asked. Not really wanting to leave Seth alone but not wanting to bring him along in case things with Caleb got heated. Which they often did.

"Sure dad. Lieutenant T.P. and I have got it covered", Seth said. Although, he wasn't really looking forward to be alone with his own mind for a couple of hours.

Sandy returned sooner than expected, though. He had a shell shocked look about him as he entered the hotel room. He had gone to Caleb with the intention of getting in and out with as little fanfare as possible. He hadn't planned on telling him any details other than the fact that the child Kirsten had with Jimmy was finally out in the open and that he felt it was the source of some problems they'd been having. If Kirsten wanted to confide the affair to him then that was her choice but as far as he was concerned it was none of Caleb's business. So he'd intended to keep that quiet and simply encourage Caleb to clean up the mess of her life that he and his wife had helped to create all those years ago. Only once he'd arrived at the Newport Group he was greeted by an irate Caleb that launched into him asking what he'd done to his daughter.

An intense back and forth ensued with Sandy learning that upon leaving the hospital last night Kirsten had returned home and started drinking. She'd called Caleb, intermittently sobbing to him about her failed marriage and railing against him and Jimmy for being the cause, then finally vowing to make them regret all they'd done to her before hanging up. Caleb remembered her words to him when she'd demanded he track down Dawn Atwood and knew she was capable of doing him some serious damage. He tried to call her back but got a busy signal, so he headed over to try and calm her in person. Upon arriving, he found an irate Jimmy pounding on her front door. From his raised voice, Caleb learned of the affair and discovered that Kirsten had just blown Jimmy's marriage apart. Julie had sped off only moments before, after Kirsten had called and satisfyingly informed her that her husband had been cheating on her. News that it was with Kirsten herself had particularly stung. Caleb managed to get Jimmy to realize that his attempts to get Kirsten to open the door were futile and he finally left.

Caleb used his key and entered the house, almost afraid to face her himself. He had to tread lightly. The house was eerily quiet as he searched for her. He stepped into the living room to find her passed out on the couch, two empty bottles of wine nearby. Glass crunched under his feet as he approached and he surveyed the room. The lamps, pictures and ceramic figurines that had previously adorned the mantle and table tops were now scattered on the floor. He rubbed a hand down his face and carried her to her bedroom, then cleaned up the broken bits as best he could before returning to his own home. He'd have to deal with her in the morning. Afternoon, he corrected, considering her current state.

Caleb had gone to work early to begin trying to cover his ass in case Kirsten decided to make good on her threats to him. Even if she sobered and got control of her emotions when she awoke, who knew what and when something would set her off again. He couldn't take that chance. He was tense, trying to figure out just how much Kirsten knew about specific under the table deals, so when Sandy arrived everything came to a head and they'd both had it out. Hurling accusations at one another to cast blame on Kirsten's meltdown. Eventually, they'd both run out of steam and Sandy suggested that if Kirsten could find some closure to the one event that it all trailed back to, maybe they could stop the downward spiral. He didn't care about Caleb's plight. He cared about Seth being able to salvage a relationship with his mother and, as hurt and angry as he was at her, the thought of the woman he married completely disappearing tore at him. His Kirsten had to still be in there somewhere. She had to be.

Caleb hesitated but then confided that Kirsten learning the fate of her child may not have the effect that Sandy hopes for. He told him that his life had not been a fairytale and that Kirsten could just as easily slip further over the edge if she found out exactly what befell her first born. After some coaxing, Sandy got Caleb to reveal the identity of the child. Sandy thought it was all some sick joke at first but Caleb told him all he knew and he finally accepted what he was being told. He left in a daze, not quite knowing what to do next. Forgoing the trip to his office, he settled for a phone call to get the ball rolling on the apartment hunting and just headed back to the hotel.

"Dad?", Seth asked warily. He was a little afraid to ask what could possibly have put that look on his dad's face. Everything was already so fucked up, what the hell else could possibly happen.

Sandy walked to the window and looked out. After a beat he took a breath and let it out. He shook his head and whispered, "Trey" and then fell silent again.

Seth frowned. Trey? What the hell does he have to do with anything?"Dad?", he said again, his voice laced with confusion. His dad turned to him. Seth tried, and failed, to read his expression. He started bouncing his knee and twisting and squeezing the toilet paper horse until he inadvertently pulled the head right off.

Sandy walked to the bed and sat down beside him, pulled the decapitated figure from Seth's hands and said, "Seth...I wouldn't have believed it possible but things have just gotten more complicated". He sighed. "Much more complicated." He took another deep breath and told Seth what he'd learned from Caleb.

Seth was stunned into silence. His mouth opened and then closed several times but no words emerged. Finally, he jumped up and started pacing. He gestured wildly trying to map out the trail that led them here. He shook his head and started several sentences but let them trail off without finishing. At one point Sandy thought his head would explode. Seth's thoughts turned to Ryan and how he would react to this. He tried to reason what exactly that made him and Ryan if they both shared the same brother. That made them sort of brothers, didn't it?

Eventually, after Seth decompressed, they decided to head to the hospital to see Ryan. They'd told him they would be there and they couldn't let this rattle them too much. Ryan was still in need of a place to stay. This new development hadn't changed that. They'd keep this information to themselves for the time being, until they decided how to handle it with both Ryan and Kirsten. First thing was first. They'd find an apartment and hopefully the social worker would agree to allowing Ryan to stay with them. In the meantime, maybe they could subtly find out more about Trey than the little Sandy knew from his rap sheet.

The ride to the hospital was quiet, each one's thoughts swirling wildly. Trey was Kirsten's son. Ryan's brother was Seth's brother.

Seth thought it was like a bad Lifetime movie. Only if it was one of those Ryan would have totally turned out to be his long lost brother and that? Would have been awesome. It wasn't Ryan, though. It was Trey. Who was incarcerated. True, Ryan got arrested, too, but it had been his first time and it wasn't like he was the mastermind. Trey had a record. Trey had drugs and a gun and stole a car and got his brother to go along. Not exactly top notch brother material.

Sandy was also having a hard time processing. What strange twist of fate was this to have brought Ryan into their lives, in turn bringing Trey into their lives? Kirsten and Jimmy's son. How was Kirsten going to react to finding out her son, unlike Ryan, was really a criminal. He had an impressive record that started at quite a young age. He sighed. Things kept getting more and more complicated.

Once at the hospital, they stopped at the nurse's station and asked if it was all right for Seth to see Ryan. Rachael had filled the day shift in before she headed home. She warned everyone about Kirsten Cohen and instructed them not to let her in to see Ryan under any circumstance but had informed them that Seth and Sandy would be fine when they came to visit. Which, she assured, they would probably be there in the morning. The day nurse, Lisa, smiled and said Ryan was having lunch and that he could go on in. Sandy sent Seth off to his room while he talked with the nurse about Ryan's condition. He wanted to make sure there hadn't been any serious setbacks as a result of Kirsten's ambush. Lisa informed him that Ryan's hand had been restitched and, while his fever had elevated again slightly, he still appeared to be on track in his recovery and seemed much better this morning.

Seth took a breath and tried to mask his anxiety before entering Ryan's room. He found him sitting up scowling at his breakfast tray. "Hey, dude", he said as he pulled a chair up next to his bed. He looked at the contents on his tray and gave a scowl of his own. "What the hell _is_ that?", he asked with a grimace.

Ryan gave a half hearted "hey" and pushed his tray away. "Judging from the color, it's meat. I think. " He looked back at Seth and then looked to the door.

"Oh, uh, dad's talking to the nurse. He'll be in in a sec, dude", Seth said as his knee started bouncing. He could feel this new information nudging his brain no matter how hard he tried to tamp it down. Shocking new information. A veritable bombshell of epic proportions. His dad didn't want to spring this all on Ryan yet but surely he knew Seth could not keep this a secret. He tapped the arms of his chair rapidly, feeling the words bubbling up just waiting to explode out of his mouth. Whose bright idea was it to send him in first? Alone, no less. That was just a dumb move on his dad's part, Seth thought.

Ryan frowned as he glanced back at Seth. It was impossible not to notice the nervous twitching and fidgeting. "What's up, man?", he said. "If you were any twitchier I'd think you were on crack."

"What?...Oh. Uh. Well...", he sputtered. "I have a brother", he blurted out and then clamped his hand over his mouth. Oops. At least he didn't say _who_ his new found brother was. He mentally patted himself on the back for that small miracle.

Ryan raised his eyebrows in surprise and waited for more but none came. "So, uh, a brother, huh?", he prompted.

Seth immediately resumed his nervous fidgeting. He chewed his lip and looked at Ryan. His dad was so going to kick his ass. "Uh, yeah. Um, my dad didn't want me to say anything. We just found out about it. As it turns out, my mom and, uh, Jimmy Cooper...remember I told you that he and my mom were an item back in the day?", he asked. At Ryan's nod he went on. "well, uh, I guess my mom got pregnant and they gave the kid away. To be adopted", he finished.

"Wow...that's, uh...so Marissa is...", Ryan tried to reason out in his head.

"Shit. I didn't even think of that", Seth said as he stood up and started pacing. "Marissa and Kaitlyn are my...my brother's sisters." He managed to keep the rest of his train of thought to himself. Marissa, though a couple of years older than him and Ryan, had flirted with Ryan mercilessly the little time they'd spent together. Seth shuddered at the sort of incestuous ramifications of Ryan's brother's sister hitting on her brother's brother. So neither Ryan and Trey nor Ryan and Marissa were related by blood but still it rang of "eww".

Sandy stood outside Ryan's room. He had slowed to put on his game face and heard Seth tell Ryan he had a brother as he approached the doorway. They'd just discussed this. They weren't going to dump this on Ryan until they had a chance to get him settled. The kid was in the hospital with his life literally up in the air. He wanted to try to give him some sense of stability before he laid this news on him. He sighed and strode into the room.

Ryan tensed at the angry look on Sandy's face.

"Seth", Sandy said firmly. "I thought we discussed this."

Seth stood up and held his hands out in surrender. "Sorry, dad, but it just slipped out. I mean, it's not every day you learn you have a brother out there that was given up for adoption", he said as he eyed Ryan from the corner of his eye. He knew he was treading on thin ice but he couldn't help it. He wanted to see how Ryan reacted. He wanted to see if he knew that Trey was adopted.

Ryan, not wanting them to fight, gave Seth his answer. "My brother is adopted", he stated, trying to diffuse the situation. He thought if he shared a little Atwood family secret Sandy wouldn't be so upset at Seth for spilling one of theirs.

Sandy and Seth turned to him.

As annoyed at Seth as he was, Sandy thought that maybe he was onto something here.

"You know?", Seth asked without thinking. "I mean, uh, does..does _he_ know?", he sputtered, trying to cover. He shook his head. Smooth, Seth.

Ryan nods. "Yeah, he knows. My folks never kept it a secret", he said as he repositioned himself in the bed. He watched as Seth re-took his seat and Sandy pulled up another chair. He didn't really want to go into his family's dirty laundry but judging from the strangely eager looks on their faces it was clear they wanted him to continue. What the hell. Seth wasn't shy about airing theirs. He had to admit that hearing that the beautiful people of Newport had the same messed up shit going on as anywhere else made him more at ease. "It was kinda fucked up. When they first got married they wanted a kid but couldn't seem to make it happen so they adopted Trey. Things were going ok but then dad lost his job and they had to move and right about that time mom found out she was pregnant with me. Dad wanted her to 'get rid of me', if you know what I mean", he said looking down at his hands.

Seth nor Sandy knew what to say to that. Seth nodded awkwardly while Sandy frowned sadly.

"He already had the son he wanted but mom wanted a kid of her own, you know. Biological. So she went ahead and had me. They played hard core favorites when we were growing up. Dad had no use for me and mom had no use for Trey anymore and they weren't shy about showing it. They fought all the time. Money was tight and dad blamed me. Drinking became a full time hobby for both of them. Everything just went down hill from there", he said, leaning his head back and looking at the ceiling.

"What about you and Trey? Did you get along?", Seth asked, wanting as much information as he could get while they had Ryan talking.

Ryan turned his head toward him and then Sandy. He said, "Me and Trey...are...it's complicated". He blew out a breath. "Mom and dad pitted us against each other all the time. We tried not to let it affect us. Tried to stick together but it was hard, you know? Listening to the shit they'd say to us. It was hard not to resent each other sometimes. Dad blamed me for everything. Saying that if they didn't have me, if they only had one kid to feed, they'd have been able to get on their feet and when he got sent up Trey blamed me, too. Dad treated him good. Well, better than me anyway and I guess some of what dad said over the years sunk in. He felt like if I hadn't been born then maybe dad would still be there and mom wouldn't be bringing home assholes like A.J. that didn't like either one of us." He's quiet a moment as he plucks at his blanket. "He really came through for me sometimes but other times he'd basically just throw me under the bus."

"Did..did he ever want to find his real family? I mean, his other family. Sorry, man, but you know what I mean", Seth stumbled over his words. He knew he shouldn't push but he wanted to know. Needed to know.

"Seth", Sandy warned. Although, the same questions were entering his mind as well. It couldn't hurt knowing his feelings on the subject.

"Nah. I asked him if he wanted to once", Ryan said. "I mean, things at home weren't great and I remember thinking that if I had another family out there I'd want to find them but, Trey, he said, '_fuck 'em. if they didn't want me then I don't want them'_. "

Seth and Sandy share a look. Great. Now what?


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sandy studied Seth as they stood in the hall. Dr. Monroe had come in and asked them to leave while he checked Ryan over, having heard that he'd had a difficult night that had resulted with his work on Ryan's hand needing to be redone. Seth was wearing a small swath of hallway out, his pacing matching the speed with which his thoughts were swirling.

"Seth? Talk to me. What are you thinking?", Sandy asked.

Seth stopped and sighed. "I don't know, dad. This is so fucking messed up. What are we going to tell mom? How is Ryan going to feel about all of this? What the hell is Trey going to think about it all? You heard Ryan. Trey doesn't want to know us. He's not going to want to know me. I don't even know if I want to know him from what Ryan said in there. He's...he's in jail....and I know that Ryan could be, too, but it just sounds like Trey is way hard core what with the drugs and guns and car stealing and while I think it's kinda cool that this makes me and Ryan sorta like brothers, is Ryan going to think that's cool?", he said in a rush. "What do we do, dad? How is mom going to take this? She hates Ryan. What the hell is she going to think about Trey? She's going to burst a vein when she finds out he's the baby she gave away."

"I don't know, son. I honestly don't know", Sandy admitted. "I thought that if she knew her son was alright she'd finally be able to make peace with it and maybe find that part of her that she let herself be when we lived in Berkeley....but now....I just don't know. I don't want to keep the truth from her but I really don't know what good it would do for her to know just yet. She's in such a delicate place right now. Then there's Ryan....and Trey. It sounds like their relationship is complicated enough without adding this to the mix. Who knows how either will react." He blew out a breath. Truth be known, he was quite concerned with how Trey would react to learning that his birth mother is wealthy. It's clear that he and Ryan grew up with very little. His criminal activities were all attempts at easy money and wanting what he didn't have. He may resent her for all she had. He may see dollar signs and a chance to take what he'd been denied.

"So, we don't tell them?", Seth asked. "I don't know how I feel about lying to Ryan about this, dad."

Sandy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with a grimace. "I don't want to either, Seth, but I think we need to sit on this for a little bit. I need to try to get through to your mother and maybe I can get her to a place where she can accept this without going completely over the edge. As for Ryan, well, I want to get him settled and back to full health", he stated. Finding out that Kirsten, a woman that hates him with a passion and blames him for all her woes, is his brother's biological mother would be a difficult pill to swallow.

Dr. Monroe exited Ryan's room and approached Sandy and Seth. "You can go back in now", he said with a smile. "They did a good job redoing the stitches but I had to put a splint on his hand to keep this from happening again. In retrospect, I should have done it before but I thought the thickness of the wrapping would keep his hand fairly immobile in order to allow the wound to close up properly...."

Seth zoned out on the doctor-speak after hearing that Ryan was ok. His mind still swirling with doubts and growing questions. This was one huge fucked up mess. Sandy and the doctor finished talking and they are allowed back in to see Ryan.

They sat in relative silence as Ryan tried to choke down some of his mystery breakfast. Dr. Monroe had insisted that he needed to have something in his stomach when they gave him his pain meds. He pushed the tray away, half eaten.

Seth had been fidgety and, unable to quash the lingering questions left from their earlier conversation. "Ryan? Can I ask you something?.....about what we were talking about before?", he ventured cautiously.

Sandy glanced from Seth to Ryan with eyebrows raised in interest. He shifted in his chair as Ryan slid his eyes to Seth.

"Uh, I guess", Ryan said warily. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about anymore but he started it when he chose to share it in the first place.

Seth leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looked down at his hands for a second. "Well, I was just wondering....if you and Trey don't get along so well, why do you want to get a place and have him live with you when he gets out?", Seth asked, desperately wanting to understand the dynamic.

"He's my brother", Ryan stated simply. He sighed as Seth looked at him expectantly, that answer clearly not sufficing. "It's complicated. Like I said.", Ryan said, trying to figure out how to explain it. "I just want him to have a place ready for him when he gets out. Maybe I can keep him from going back. I....I know I wasn't able to stop him from doing all the stupid shit he did to get sent up in the first place but maybe without Dawn in the picture stirring shit up....maybe I can this time."

Sandy smiled sadly. "It's admirable that you want to be there for him but whether or not Trey goes back is up to him". Not to mention the fact that it was Trey who had nearly influenced _him_ right into a jail cell along with him. He decided to keep that observation to himself.

Seth, however, did not. "He got you arrested", he stated bluntly.

Sandy grimaced as he and Ryan both turned their eyes to him.

"What? I'm sorry but it's true", Seth defended.

Ryan scowled. "He didn't 'get me arrested'. I made the choice to get in that car. Things sucked at home and he was always telling me stories when we were growing up, about how he was going to get a camaro and we'd go far away. Just him and me. When he picked that car, I knew. I knew he'd had enough of Chino. Then the cops were there and it was like, if we were going to go down we'd go down together. So I got in", he tried to explain. Ryan looked away and settled back in his bed tiredly. "It's hard to explain, Seth. I don't think you'd understand unless you had a brother". He missed the flinch from both Sandy and Seth at that. The truth was, Ryan felt guilty. From all accounts, both of his parents loved Trey before he came along. After he was born, Dawn stopped paying attention to him and things between her and Frank got more and more tense and things began to disintegrate. Maybe if he hadn't been born Trey never would have started getting into so much trouble. Maybe if he hadn't been born they'd have been able to pull things together and been a happy family. He knew Trey blamed him for their dad getting sent up. He had to make it up to him. They used to be close. They could be again if he could show Trey that he was there for him when he got out. He pressed on, "....and I know he's going to have to keep himself out of trouble", Ryan said. "..but it will help if he's got someplace to go. Someone to help him".

"You're right", Sandy conceded, giving Seth a passing squeeze on the shoulder as he stood and approached the bed. "It does help give them a fighting chance if they've got a stable environment and some solid support behind them but, as I said before, your chances of getting emancipated and being out on your own are pretty much nil".

Ryan closed his eyes and sighed dejectedly. "Foster care", he stated plainly.

"Not necessarily, dude", Seth forged ahead.

That caught Ryan's attention and he looked puzzlingly to Sandy.

"I had approached your social worker about you staying with us but then..."

"Mom went all pod person on us"", Seth interjected.

Sandy shot him a look and continued, " the only reason your social worker pulled back on the idea of you staying with us is because of Kirsten's behavior. Seth and I are getting an apartment, so that's no longer an issue. I'll speak to her and see if something can be worked out."

"And Trey?", Ryan asked hopefully.

Sandy was conflicted about Trey. He was Kirsten's son. He should help him. That much he knew, but he felt in his gut that Trey was bad news. He needed to find out more about him. Maybe pay him a visit in Chino and see if he could get a feel for him before making a decision on how and when to tell Ryan and Kirsten. That would wait. His first priority was Ryan. "Why don't we concentrate on you for right now", he eluded.

* * *

Caleb had been contemplating his next move. He didn't know what frame of mind Kirsten was going to be in when she finally awoke. She'd destroyed Jimmy's marriage and she could do a hell of a lot more if she was feeling as vindictive as she was last night and Jimmy wasn't the only one with a lot to lose. His fortune was on the line. His freedom. Hell, even his life if some of his under the table wheeling and dealing became known to certain parties. He needed to turn her attentions elsewhere. He needed to appease her and get rid of the boy, then maybe she'd focus on trying to repair her marriage. The worry he had, though, was that if she and Sandy reconciled he would definitely tell her about Trey. Damn. Why had he caved and told Sandy who he was? He should have lied. He could have set up a false trail and paid someone off to point to a happy home or, hell, even told him the child was dead. He had no doubt that normally Sandy would never keep something so important from her but maybe he'd thoroughly shocked Sandy with her son's identity and with Kirsten in so unpredictable a state of mind, along with the fact that Trey was incarcerated, Sandy might see the benefits of keeping quiet about it. It was a shame that the boy's life had turned out so poorly but he'd seen his rap sheet. The damage was done. He was a lost cause. No good would come from Kirsten knowing about him. He just had to convince Sandy of that. Ryan's connection to the boy would be a problem. Another reason to get him out of the picture. Knowing Sandy, he would be reluctant to step back where he was concerned, especially now that he knew about Trey, but if he could reunite Ryan with his mother he could set them up away from Newport. She might need a little incentive but it was a small price to pay if he could get the boy, and, in effect, Trey out of the picture for good. Then, if he could keep Sandy and Kirsten from reconciling, she need never know the truth. He never liked Sandy. He smiled. It would be a delicate balance but he could still come out on top in the long run.

* * *

The late morning sun cast its rays into Kirsten's bedroom, awakening her with a groan. She squinted her eyes and looked at the clock. It was nearly noon. She hadn't slept that late in a long time. She rolled over and got out of bed, her head pounding. She made her way to the bathroom and shook out a couple of aspirin and looked at herself in the mirror. As she stared into her own eyes the events of the previous night came back to her. Sandy. Jimmy. Ryan.......Ryan. God damn him. She'd lost her husband because of him. She had probably lost her son because of him. She closed her eyes and sighed. She'd lost another son. She shook her head. No. She hadn't lost Seth yet and she'd be damned if she let Sandy or this boy take him from her. No one was going to take anything from her again. She showered and dressed and made her way toward the kitchen. Looking into the living room she noticed the empty mantle and tabletops. She slowly recalled her destructive alcohol induced rage and vaguely remembered her father carrying her to her room. He must have cleaned up the mess. He could still be of use to her. She'd give him one more chance. She could get Seth back if that boy was out of the way. She wanted Sandy to forgive her but the affair with Jimmy may be too big an obstacle to overcome and she was not going to beg any more than she already had. She was through letting other people dictate her life. She was in control now.

* * *

A/N: A little on the short side but I figured that was a good enough place to end it. Not much happening here but more a set up for what is to come and I really just wanted to get an update out there.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: She's alive!!! Sorry, gang. No excuse really. I had end of the year work stuff and then beginning of the year work stuff but things settled down. The muses just weren't cooperating. I kept sitting down to write and not liking what I had written and erasing everything and then starting over again. I think I started the next one for A Beautiful Noise three times. I just wasn't liking anything I was writing and moving to the next fic to give them a go and having the same problem. So I had to step away from all of them for a while. Still not quite sure I'm happy with this but I've left you all hanging long enough.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

"Atwood! You have a visitor."

Trey's brow furrowed. Who the hell would come visit him? He couldn't think of anyone besides Ryan. Dumb kid. He didn't know what had compelled him to go by the house the night they got arrested. He'd been restless and his buddies were too wasted to go out and raise a little hell. He found himself at his mother's and walked in on AJ going at the kid. He got him out of there before things could get really ugly but then he couldn't get rid of him. So he decided to take the opportunity to teach him a few things. Ryan would be out of that house soon enough and he wasn't going to be able to count on him to help him out. He needed to learn to make it on his own. He spotted the Camaro and knew it'd be easy to steal, being an older car. Just their luck, a cop happened to drive by at just that moment.

The clanging of the door shook him from his thoughts and he warily sat down across from the PD that drew his and Ryan's case when they got busted. Bastard didn't do him any good but he did manage to keep Ryan out of juvie. He suddenly worried that maybe he was here because of Ryan and that whole fake ID business. Maybe the dumb kid got caught. That's all he'd need is for that to come back and bite him in the ass. All he did was send him to Jesse, but helping that kid out always amounted to a load of shit. He'd just have to play dumb and hope that Jesse kept his mouth shut about all of the business he sent his way if he did get caught. Jesse had been surprised that Trey still wanted a cut even when the client was Ryan but, hey, business was business, brother or not. He was going to have to pay like anybody else. The fake ID market had gone high tech and meant big bucks if people wanted it done right. Buying and selling names and histories that could give people a new start or simply an ID that could squeak past a cursory run through a law enforcement database without raising alarms if anyone was pulled over. You were on your own, though, if you were actually brought in and had your fingerprints run unless you had the kind of money to have that wiped out of the system. Jesse handled the lower end clientele and as far as he knew Trey didn't know enough about that operation to be considered a real threat but, as with any of the extra-curricular activities he'd managed to wedge a hand in, from selling drugs to jacking cars, he'd kept his ear to the ground and learned a lot more than they were aware of. He had briefly entertained the thought of selling any one of them out to cut down his time but, in the end, he knew there were some bridges best not burned. What good would a shorter sentence do him if he got shanked before he got out or had a target on his back when he did? Besides, he wasn't about to give away any favors when he may be in need of one himself down the line.

"Trey", Sandy said, not quite knowing what to say. He hadn't really thought through how he was going to handle this meeting. He just wanted to spend a little more time with Trey to see if he could get a real feel for the kid. To see if he could understand Ryan's devotion to him. He knew part of it was guilt, from what Ryan had shared of their lives growing up, but he needed to see if there was more there. To see if there was something in Trey that warranted the loyalty. Meeting the boy's penetrating stare, he could see bits of both Kirsten and Jimmy in his features. He forced himself to look away when Trey's eyes narrowed at the scrutiny. He cleared his throat and asked how he was doing.

Trey studied him before saying, "What do you want? I doubt that you came all this way out of concern for my well being all of a sudden. Is it Ryan?"

Taking the opening, Sandy used it to cover the real reason he was there. "He's in the hospital. Your mom took off and he's been living on the street".

Trey nodded. "Yeah, I know", he said flatly. "He came to see me after she left. So what happened to land him in the hospital?", he asked as he picked at his fingernails and then let his eyes trail around the room seemingly bored with the conversation.

Sandy frowned at the behavior and lack of concern in his voice. He shifted in his seat and told him about Ryan being attacked in the warehouse he was sleeping in and having been in the hospital for what turned out to be two weeks, fighting the stubborn infection that had set in due to lack of immediate medical care. Ryan had a bit of a relapse due to a reaction to one of the meds and ended up needing a longer stay than first thought. The extra time had allowed Sandy's assistant to find a furnished apartment. Sandy agreed to it sight unseen, more than happy to have that settled. It was in a good area, not far from either his office or Seth's school. Ryan's, too, once he got that sorted.

Again, Trey nodded. "I can believe it. He's a good lookin' kid. He could make a lot of money peddling his ass on the corner." He smirked at Sandy's shocked expression. "Hey, sometimes you have to do what you have to do", he shrugged.

"Did you....", Sandy started, a knot forming in his stomach at the thought of Kirsten's son having to...

Trey laughed hollowly. "Nah. There are other ways to make money. I'd put a bullet in my head the day I ever got that desperate for cash." He sat back in his chair and studied the man before him. "What are you really doing here, Mr. Cohen?", he asked again, not quite able to get a read on the man. Something was off about him but he couldn't put his finger on anything.

"Ryan's worried about you. He's getting released today and I've arranged for him to stay with me and my son but he's concerned about you and where you'll go once you get out. He wanted to have a place of his own waiting for you but...."

"But since he's going to be with you I'm shit outa luck. Is that it?", Trey finished. He shook his head and laughed. "Look, I wouldn't have stayed with the kid anyway. I sure as shit wouldn't stay with you. Like I need his goody two shoes ass whispering in my ear to do the right thing all the time, let alone some lawyer breathin' down my neck. I can take care of myself. Been doing it a long time. So don't you worry that I'm gonna cry into my pillow knowing you don't have room for my ass." He leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. "What I want to know is, why the interest in my brother? Why the fuck are you taking him home? What's in it for you?"

Sandy frowned. "There's nothing 'in it' for me. Ryan's a good kid. He needs help. That's all."

Trey snorted and sat back. "Right. So tell me, how many kids have you 'helped' before? Nobody does anything for free. Everybody wants something."

"I'm sure you believe that, Trey, but..", Sandy said.

"I'll tell you what I believe...no. Make that what I _know._ The only person you can count on is yourself. The sooner Ryan figures that out the better off he'll be", Trey said. "Hell, I shoulda remembered that or I wouldn't be here right now. That's what I get for trying to teach the little shit how to survive."

Sandy's eyebrows raised. "How to survive? That's what you think you were doing by stealing a car with your little brother in tow?", he asked incredulously. His thoughts going back to Ryan's version of events and that Trey was following through on some childhood promise of escape. A childhood promise that Trey had clearly long forgotten.

Trey shrugged. "Like I said, you do what you gotta do to survive. An opportunity presents itself and you've gotta take it and milk it for all it's worth. That's what I was trying to show him."

Sandy studied Trey and the cynicism radiating from him. He didn't suppose he could blame him really. His biological parents had given him away. Only to be taken in by a family that disintegrated before his eyes. Dawn turning her back on him as soon as she had Ryan. It saddened Sandy that the one person Trey probably felt ever truly wanted him was Frank Atwood. A man who beat him and Ryan and turned to a life of crime. A path Trey followed. Quite comfortably, it seemed. If only he'd had someone to help him see that there was another way. He didn't want to think of him as a lost cause but hearing him speak....looking into his hardened eyes, he couldn't help but feel it may too late for him, but could he really just go on pretending he didn't know the truth? Could he really keep it from Ryan and Kirsten?

Trey bristled under the scrutiny as his instincts continued to tell him that there was something more going on here than met the eye. "Look, man, my time's almost up so why don't you just tell me what you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you, Trey", he said. "You're...Ryan's brother. I...I want to help you. If you..."

Trey's eyes flashed. "You want to take pity on Ryan and take him in like some fuckin' stray puppy then go ahead. I'll be happy to have him out of my hair but leave me out of it. I don't need or want your help. I can make my own way. I don't need some do gooder sticking his nose in my life."

"Your way landed you in here. It doesn't have to be....", Sandy tried to say.

"Inside. Outside. It's all the same. You just have to know how to play the game", he said plainly. He met Sandy's eyes with a cold stare. "I know how to play the game. I don't need you to fuckin' save me. The world uses you and you use it right back. Go play daddy to Ryan. Leave me the fuck out of it."

Sandy swallowed and studied the young man before him one last time. He slowly nodded and heard himself say, "Well, then, I guess we're done here."

When Trey offered nothing in response he asked if there was anything he wanted him to tell Ryan, to which he responded with a shrug and a "not really". With that, he wished Trey well and left, telling himself he was doing the right thing. He had Seth to think about. He had no doubt that Trey would take one look at the life Seth had led and feel he was cheated. He'd feel they all owed him something. He shuddered at the thought of this kid manipulating his son to get what he wanted. He imagined Trey playing on Kirsten and Jimmy's guilt. No. Trey was locked up for a few more years. He'd make Seth understand that keeping Trey's true heritage under wraps was the best for everyone right now.

* * *

Kirsten sighed as she hung up the phone. Her dad had not yet found Dawn Atwood and that boy was going home with Sandy and Seth today. She rubbed her forehead and poured herself a glass of wine. Early, even for her, but she had a headache and just needed one glass to settle her down. She had tried to call Seth but his cell phone rang twice and then went to voicemail, indicating to her that he'd looked at the name and diverted her calls. She sighed. She didn't think she'd ever be able to make any headway with Seth as long as that boy was around, unless she started being nice to him. She didn't think she could do it, though. He was responsible for the state of her marriage. He was responsible for her losing Seth's respect. She couldn't stand idly by as someone else took a son from her. She had briefly thought of using her money and her father's influence to wrest custody away from Sandy but flashes of her behavior filled her mind and she knew that Sandy wouldn't have to work too hard to make her look unstable. There was the affair, the slap in the hospital in front of a social worker, and she was certain that nurse there would take great pleasure in testifying against her. Both Seth and Sandy could attest to her fondness for wine and there was also the fact that Seth was not a child. He was old enough to where a judge would take his wishes into account and right now he wouldn't even speak to her. She knew she had no chance of winning.

She stood and stepped out onto the patio and breathed in deeply. Who knows how long it would take for her father to find Dawn. She needed to suck it up and accept that Ryan was going to be in their lives. For now. Just until Caleb could find Dawn and give her encouragement to play the role of mommy well enough to lure Ryan back and then they could both be nudged out of town. Sandy would probably never forgive her for the affair but she couldn't lose Seth, and if they never found Dawn then she'd just have to find some other way to deal with Ryan. In the meantime, she'd make nice. She had to act like she liked people she couldn't stand all of the time. At work. At social functions. She could do it with Ryan. She could get Seth to trust her again and get close enough to keep an eye on Ryan. Close enough to make sure he never settled in too comfortably.

* * *

Sandy and Seth drove to the hospital to pick up Ryan. Sandy kept casting glances toward Seth. He was quiet. Too quiet. Sandy had told him how his visit with Trey went and Seth expressed his objection to keeping the truth from Ryan. He could understand not telling his mom. She was clearly teetering on the edge these days and he could even understand not telling Trey. Trey had told Ryan that he didn't want to know his real family. Seth wished he didn't know the truth. He felt guilty for feeling that way. Trey was his brother. Even though he didn't know him, he should feel something, shouldn't he? But all he felt was that he was glad he was locked up because he didn't know if he could handle coming face to face with him right now. Not after everything he'd heard about him. From some of the things Ryan had told him, and his dad the other day, he also couldn't help but feel that Trey might not react well to knowing he was his real brother and that while he was growing up poor and getting the shit beat out of him Seth was being spoiled rotten and living in a mansion. Nope. He most certainly would not react well to finding out that either one of his biological parents had more than enough money to take care of him and yet they'd both chosen to give him away. Not to mention that his biological mother had another child. One that she kept. He sighed.

"Seth?", Sandy prompted at hearing the sigh.

Seth turned to look at his dad. He noted the tired circles under his eyes and the tenseness in his shoulders. He could see how all of this was weighing on him. He tried to give a reassuring smile. "I'm ok, dad. I just.....I don't like the idea of lying to Ryan. I get mom and Trey. I do. I feel like a jerk but I trust you to know what you're doing. I...I don't know if I can...."

"I don't want to keep things from Ryan, either, but...for now, I think it's for the best. Let's just take it one day at a time", Sandy said, unsure himself as to whether or not he'd be able to keep Kirsten's son a dirty little secret for very long. He pushed it to the back of his mind as they pulled into the hospital parking lot.

They walked into Ryan's room to find him already dressed and sitting on his bed, seemingly lost in thought.

"Hey", Seth said as he approached.

Startled, Ryan looked up and gave a small smile. "Hey, man".

"You ready to get out of here?", Sandy asked with a smile.

Ryan nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Yeah. Dr. Monroe already checked out my hand again and said I'm good to go. I've got to come back in a week and they'll see about taking out the stitches. It'll all be on my discharge papers when the nurse brings them. She, uh, she said she'll go over it all with you before we can go", he said, shifting uncomfortably.

Sandy studied him, frowning at his subdued manner. "Everything all right, kid? I thought you'd be happier at the thought of getting out of here."

He glanced up and quickly said, "I am." He chewed his lip and looked down. "It's just...are you sure?", he asked as he lifted his head slightly and looked back at Sandy through his bangs. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sandy pulled up a chair and sat, now able to meet Ryan's lowered eyes. "I've never been more sure. The question is, is this what you want? If you're having second thoughts..."

Ryan stared down at his bandaged hand and plucked at a loose thread. "It's not that", he sighed. "Mrs. Cohen can't be too happy about it."

Sandy smiled sadly. "Ryan", he said softly as Seth said, "Dude..."

Ryan shook his head. "No. Look, you guys. I appreciate all you've done but I don't want to be the reason you can't work things out. She's your mom, Seth. I don't want to come between you two. I feel like all I do is screw things up for everyone. I can do the foster care. I mean, I've done it before and it sucks sometimes but it might be ok this time. I can..."

"Ryan", Sandy said again, more firmly. "Look at me", he said, waiting for Ryan's eyes to meet his. "Kirsten has done some things. Things that had nothing to do with you, that I don't know if I can forgive. If we aren't able to work things out then it's on us. Not you. And as angry as Seth is at his mother....."

"Also, nothing to do with you, dude. Not really. She may use you as an excuse but the reason I'm pissed is all on her, man. For what she did to dad and, yeah, partly because of the way she's treated you but she's the one that's been way out of line. You're not screwing our family up. She is."

"Let's just get you home, kid. Ok?", Sandy asked.

Ryan looked from one to the other, wanting to believe them. He nodded and hoped he wasn't about to destroy another family.

* * *

"Atwood. You've got another visitor."

"Well, ain't I mister popularity. Who is it?", he asked as he was being led to the visitor's room.

"I'm not in charge of your social calendar. I just bring you to 'em", the guard said.

As they reach the room the guard announces Trey's arrival to another guard and he's pointed to a table.

Trey slowly walked over, not recognizing the man sitting there. The man stands the second he sees him approaching the table. Eyes wide and all the color drained from his face. "Am I supposed to know you?" Trey asked as he sat.

The man sat slowly and took a breath. His eyes studying Trey's face intently, causing him to shift uncomfortably. "I....I don't know how to say this so I'll just......My name's Jimmy. Jimmy Cooper and......_I'm your father_."

* * *

**A/N: Ok, probably a bit fast for Jimmy to be able to track down what happened to his kid but.......**

**I just wanted to throw a wrench in things for everyone. lol. I was also just reading the first chapter of this again and, at the time, I was planning on going a different direction with Trey and so he sounds like not so bad a guy in the little bit that I mentioned him there but I suppose you could just look at it as being Ryan's perception of Trey and what he thought was concern at their mom ditching him was more Trey seeing dollar signs at being able to send another client in Jesse's direction for a fake ID. lol. At any rate, Trey's turning out to be harder edged than I originally intended. Oh well. He's nicer (still messed up but clearly caring for Ryan) in my other fics so I'm kind of liking making him darker here. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: It lives....Wow, I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I updated this....and all of the others, said sheepishly. It had been so long that I had to reread and, in doing so, I confused myself and ending up tweaking a few things. So I re-uploaded all of the chapters but I just realized that I replaced the old ones before running spell check on the new ones. Crap. So while I may have caught the old typos and crazy punctuation choices, there could now be new ones. lol. They may take a little time to get updated on the site anyway, so I'll go back and do that as soon as I hit the old "publish" button on this chapter. **

**Also, no Ryan, Sandy or Seth in this one. I had a little trouble getting going after I had Jimmy show up at the jail in the previous chapter. What was I thinking?! lol. I had half a notion to punk out and have him only thinking that last line in his head and not actually saying it but when I tried writing that I just couldn't make any headway. So, after stepping away again for a while and then coming back and taking another stab at it, this is what happened.**

**At any rate, sorry that after the incredibly long wait I was unable to work Ryan into this chapter but he, Sandy and Seth will be back in the next one, along with more Trey (and Kirsten). I have a basic outline for that and many ideas churning in my little head.  
**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Is that so?", Trey responded after a beat, his face hardening instantly.

Jimmy swallowed convulsively. The words still echoed in his head and he couldn't believe he had just blurted it out like that. It had been easy to find out his boy's name and who adopted him since he was one of the parties involved but he hired someone else to find out the details about the family and where they currently were. Quicker than expected, the private investigator had placed the information in his hands. He was ashamed at seeing how little it took to find his son and wished he had done it sooner. Especially after learning of the hard life he'd had. Current environment proof of that. From what the private investigator said in the report, according to people who grew up with him, Trey had known he was adopted from a very young age. He expected to be met with anger but was unprepared for just how it felt to be on the receiving end of that cold stare. He should have written a letter or something first and given the boy time to take it in and decide if he wanted to see him. "Look, uh....I'm sorry. I came on the spur of the moment. I...I shouldn't have. I should have thought it through and contacted you a different way. It's just that I got the information about where you were and......here I am."

"Ok. So what do you want?", Trey asked, wondering why, after all of this time, his dear old dad decided to look him up. First Mr. Cohen checking up on him and now...._him_.

"I....I just wanted to see you. I've thought about you....", he stopped as Trey shook his head and held up a hand.

"Don't. Don't fucking sit there and tell me how much you've thought about me. Why are you here? Why now, after all of these years? What. Do. You. Want?", he bit out. "First Mr. Cohen. Now you? Who's next? My kindergarten teacher?"

Jimmy blinked. "Sandy was here?"

Trey's eyes narrowed. "You know him?"

"Yes. He...he's my neighbor. He lives next door to me", Jimmy confirmed. "In Newport", he added absently.

Newport, huh? He took a closer look at the man before him, with his his two hundred dollar haircut and manicured nails. Dude probably never did a hard days work in his life. So money clearly wasn't the reason he was passed off to someone else to raise. He wondered if his mother was well off, too. Maybe he could work with this. "I didn't know Mr. Cohen lived in Newport", he stated lightly, trying to work out just how he should play this.

"Yeah. Yeah, he does. He and....his wife. And son", Jimmy said, trying to keep the conversation going but not wanting to give too much away yet. He was happy to see a shift in Trey's body language, if not a little puzzled by it. "How...how do you know Sandy?"

"He was my PD. Mine and my brother, Ryan's. He's been helping Ryan out and came by to let me know what's going on with him", Trey stated. "You know him? My brother?"

"The Ryan Sandy brought home a few months ago?", he asked, surprised.

"One in the same", Trey replied.

"Huh. Small world. I never met him but my daughter mentioned him. I didn't know his last name, though, so I didn't put it together when I read the information I found out about you", Jimmy said, then winced internally, after realizing he'd just inadvertently mentioned that he had another child. Luckily, Trey seemed to take it well.

Trey's eyebrows raised. "I have a sister?"

Jimmy smiled a little uncertainly. "Two, actually. Half sisters. Marissa is about a year younger than you and Kaitlin is 10."

Cataloging the information, he fishes for something on his mother. "So you and my....mother aren't together?"

Jimmy shifted uncomfortably, unsure if it was his place to reveal who she was. "No. No, we split up when.....", he trailed off, realizing how bad it sounded.

"When she got knocked up", Trey finished flatly.

"Trey, it's complicated", he leaned forward. "If we had stayed together we would have never given you up but....we were young. Just out of high school, and our parents were dead set against it. They pressured us to give you up for adoption. Kirs....", he clamped his mouth shut. Jesus. There he went again. He closed his eyes and took a breath. "....your mother....she wanted to keep you but I....I have to be honest with you. I'm not proud of it but my parents threatened to cut me off...and when I didn't stand by her, she lost her resolve and her parents took control. If you ever meet your grandfather, you'll understand that he's not an easy man to defy."

Trey was silent a moment before he sat back with an unreadable expression on his face. He could understand the choice. Hell, if it came down to money or a kid he'd take the money hands down. "So.....my mother...she had money, too?"

Jimmy, for some reason unbeknown to him, rushed to defend her, taking the question as a negative. Feeling Trey faulted her for having money and not keeping her on her own. "Her family did. But, as I said, they pressured her to give you up. They held all of the purse strings for her, too. You have to understand.....her father is a powerful man. A pillar of the community. He has a way of getting what he wants. I think it was him and his wife that convinced my parents to threaten to cut me off......she's never been the same. Not since she gave you up." He hated hurting her back then. He did love her but he didn't think he was ready to be a father. In the end, it didn't really take much to persuade him against it. He hated confrontation. One mention of losing his trust fund and his decision was made. He pushed Kirsten out of his mind when she'd been sent away and went on as normal. Julie was the only girl that would give him the time of day at the time and was always turning up wherever he was, it seemed, and before he knew it they were dating regularly. Despite the jokes flying around, after Kirsten, he had learned his lesson. He hadn't jumped into bed with her without thinking. He used a condom at first but then Julie went on the pill, but no method is foolproof. Somehow, Julie ended up pregnant and he ended up being a father anyway. He either had the worst luck in the world or his sperm were just highly motivated swimmers. He shook himself from his thoughts and cleared his throat, turning his attention back to Trey.

Trey leaned forward and looked down at the table top, partially to hide the smirk he was unable to stop. The more he heard, the better it got. Not only was his biological father from money, his mother was as well. Loaded, from the sounds of it.

"Trey?", Jimmy asked worriedly, wondering if he'd said too much.

Trey looked up, hint of a smile still on his face. "Look, I get it. I do. Having your parents threatening to kick you to the curb? I'm no stranger to that." He sat back in his chair again and shrugged. "What's done is done. Can't change it now." He glanced down again, rubbing a circle on the table. He could do something about his future, though. He raised his head and met Jimmy's searching gaze. Ryan wasn't the only one who could turn on the sad puppy dog eyes. "Tell me about her. Tell me about my mother."

* * *

Kirsten pushed away from her desk, unable to concentrate. She couldn't stop thinking about Sandy and Seth...and Ryan. She looked at her watch. They probably already picked him up and took him home with them. She had been tempted to show up at the hospital and offer to help but it was still too soon. She knew if she changed her tune too quickly Sandy and Seth would question her sincerity, so she'd simply backed off and given them space. It was difficult but she sucked it up when Sandy informed her that he'd found an apartment and that Seth would be living with him. She bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood when Sandy added that he'd convinced the social worker to allow Ryan to stay with him as well. She knew if she pushed it and demanded Seth stay with her, she'd only alienate them further. At this point, she felt Sandy was a lost cause. When they'd come by the house to pick up some things, Sandy would barely look at her. Maybe in time, if she played things right, he could forgive her but she was through begging. Sandy's mind was made up about Ryan, so she focused on Seth, and the only way she was going to get back on his good side was to treat Ryan better than she had been. He barely met her eyes, too, when he packed up his things ,but she had caught him looking at her with a sad look on his face. Sad was better than anger. She could work with sad. She just had to bide her time and play nice until she could come up with some other way to get rid of Ryan. Dawn was proving to be quite elusive. Apparently, poor people were extremely hard to track since they didn't leave much of a trail, usually paying with cash.

She stood and walked to the window. Her thoughts turned to Jimmy. What did she want to do about him? How much did she want him to suffer? Julie and the girls were gone, but that wasn't really much of a punishment. She was the catalyst for his current financial predicament, with her constant spending. However, if Julie stayed true to gold digging form she'd try to take the house in the divorce and bleed him dry. Not that there would be much to bleed. Julie was in for a rude awakening, she chuckled to herself before pursing her lips in annoyance. Julie. They had been friends. Or so she thought. Julie's family didn't have money and she wasn't readily accepted in the circles she wanted desperately to be a part of. She went to Newport Union and worked on the pier after school and Kirsten and Jimmy had befriended her, inviting her out to movies and parties. Setting her up on dates. Julie hadn't made it a secret to them that she wanted to marry up. She wanted to live like Kirsten and Jimmy did. Especially after getting a taste of the high life hanging out in their homes. She knew how much Kirsten loved Jimmy but the second she was out of the picture she didn't waste any time getting her money grubbing hands on him. Accidental pregnancy my ass, Kirsten thought. She wouldn't be surprised if Julie herself had started the rumor mill churning when she got pregnant, forcing his parents' hand and pushing for marriage in order to lessen the sordid gossip at back to back pregnancy scandals.

No, Julie wasn't going to have any sort of a payday if she could help it. If she turned Jimmy in for fraud and embezzling funds maybe all of his property and assets would be seized before Julie had a chance to benefit from a settlement. It would be tough on the girls but she never liked them much anyway. They were spoiled rotten. A little toughening up would do them good.

She smiled. She may not have much control over her own life right now but being in control of someone else's felt good. She was beginning to understand why her father relished it.

* * *

Trey made his way back to his cell and laid down on his bed, quietly pondering all he'd learned from his biological father. He snorted. What a spineless douche bag. He'd told him about how he met his wife and told him about his sisters. They sounded like a bunch of privileged brats. He told him that his mother had married someone she met in college and that they had a son but not much more than that. He remained vague, not giving her name, no matter how many times he tried to get him to slip like he nearly had earlier. From that, he knew the general sound it started with. It began with a "K" or a "C"....Christy?....Kristen....Kirstie?....he'd figure it out. He had enough information that he could call in a favor from someone on the outside and do a little digging. How hard could it be to find out who Jimmy Cooper's high school sweetheart was? Who her father was, considering what a "powerful" "pillar" of the community he was. He let out a breath and smiled. The Atwood luck was finally changing.

to be continued...


End file.
